Takeover imminent.

[spaldy]

NFL is a pretty nasty ownership control group. No Russian mobsters or third world Female genital removers in it. If the 49’s pass the test there thy be fine with the FA. I’m sure someone will have to pay some money to the right people in the FAbut it will go through fine

[LeedsFTW]

You may be right regarding the 49-ers genuine intentions and attitude, but unfortunately that's not the point of the article I linked to.

If the EFL have to sign-off on all 60 of the 49-ers Enterprises "members" that in itself is going to take time (if they all turn out to be squeaky clean). If one or more require "investigation" I suspect that the complete deal can't be ratified until that investigation concludes. Until that end-point Radrizzani remains LUFC owner, with all the ramifications for manager; players etc etc

It's pretty much standard practise WTF, all the investors will have submitted their due diligence to be part of the investment group. Its not a case of sending some dodgy money to a tin shack on the other side of the world, 49's have a good rep to uphold. Anyone that fails the due diligence will be dropped from the group and might rejoin later when they meet the requirements.

It really is redd tape and for 60 people, it will only take a few hours, provided they have submitted the documents required and the audit trails are clear. It's a tick box exercise and just red tape.

The EFL wants money rich clubs in their league, it needs them.

[UbiqueLUFC33]

It's pretty much standard practise WTF, all the investors will have submitted their due diligence to be part of the investment group. Its not a case of sending some dodgy money to a tin shack on the other side of the world, 49's have a good rep to uphold. Anyone that fails the due diligence will be dropped from the group and might rejoin later when they meet the requirements.

It really is redd tape and for 60 people, it will only take a few hours, provided they have submitted the documents required and the audit trails are clear. It's a tick box exercise and just red tape.

The EFL wants money rich clubs in their league, it needs them.

If it HAD involved sending dodgy money and brown envelopes then that would have been the one and only reason to keep Fat Sam on board.

[WTF11]

Just googled the definition of imminent and this amused me (sort of!);

"How soon is imminent?

Imminent describes something that is about to happen*very soon. Sometimes, but not always, it is specifically applied to something that looms as dreaded or frightening, as in a disaster."

😉

[LeedsFTW]

Takeover announced on leeds official website

[Pacaman]

Leeds set for 49ers Enterprises takeover after sale agreement reached with Andrea Radrizzani

LEEDS, ENGLAND - AUGUST 06: A general view of the statue of Billy Bremner, covered with scarfs and flags, on the outside of the stadium prior to kick off of the Premier League match between Leeds United and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Elland Road on August 06, 2022 in Leeds, England. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)
By Phil Hay
27m ago
28
Save Article
Leeds United are finally set for new ownership after talks over the past 24 hours sealed an agreement for Andrea Radrizzani to sell his majority stake in the club to 49ers Enterprises.

The two sides publicly announced a deal on Friday, allowing 49ers Enterprises to begin the process of officially ratify its long-awaited buy-out.

The formal completion of its takeover is likely to take a number of weeks while legalities are handled and the group seeks EFL approval of the deal.

Various individuals involved in 49ers Enterprises’ investment group will be required to pass the EFL’s Owners’ and Directors’ Test before the purchase goes through.

But confirmation that the US fund will acquire full control of Leeds from Radrizzani should free the club to start work on the football front and actively implement initial plans.

A Leeds statement read: “Leeds United can confirm an agreement has been reached between Aser Ventures and 49ers Enterprises for the purchase of the club.

“Both parties continue to work through the details, and further updates will be provided soon. All of our focus remains on a quick return to the Premier League.

“Thank you for your continued support. Marching on Together.”

Leeds, who were relegated from the Premier League a fortnight ago, are looking to appoint a new head coach and are also in the market for a replacement for Victor Orta, who left the role of director of football last month.

The process of making appointments has been on hold during complex and protracted attempts by Radrizzani and 49ers Enterprises to agree a final price for the Italian’s 56 per cent shareholding.

The club’s value has dropped sharply as a result of relegation to the Championship, leading 49ers Enterprises to commit to an overall valuation of £170m. Had Leeds remained in the top flight, that figure would have been closer to £400m.

Radrizzani, the 48-year-old businessman who has been majority shareholder at Elland Road since his own buy-out in 2017, has been under intense pressure to exit Leeds after the club’s three-year stay in the Premier League ended with a 19th-placed finish on May 28.

Talks with 49ers Enterprises were complicated by Radrizzani’s ongoing effort to secure control of Italian club Sampdoria but negotiations moved forward earlier this week and agreement on all sides was reached late yesterday evening.

The announcement of a deal in principle effectively brings Radrizzani’s six-year reign to an end and will see him sever all ties with Leeds. Full ownership of Elland Road stadium – bought by Radrizzani in 2017 – will pass to 49ers Enterprises as part of the buy-out.

49ers Enterprises president Paraag Marathe, who has been vice-chairman of Leeds since 2021, is expected to take over as chairman, with existing chief executive Angus Kinnear remaining in post.

go-deeper
GO DEEPER
How US soccer fans fell out of love with Leeds and their supporters
What does this mean for Leeds?

Analysis by Phil Hay

The completion of a takeover by 49ers Enterprises would, according to those with knowledge of its intentions for Leeds, result in an increased close-season budget as part of the US group’s plan to inject funds into the club and avoid more than 12 months outside the Premier League.

Despite the tight turnaround before next season starts, there is optimism that a buyout can facilitate a concerted promotion push, and the buyout is firmly on track after a week of wrangling.

[WTF11]

Key paragraph;

"The formal completion of its takeover is likely to take a number of weeks while legalities are handled and the group seeks EFL approval of the deal".

Until the deal IS formalised no contractual agreements can be entered into (for tea ladies or new CEO) by the new owners, as until that time they are NOT the new owners.

[WTF11]

Nothing more than warm words describing what has been public knowledge for weeks.

[WTF11]

So the validation if those who make up the 49-ers Enterprises "club" is all pretty much "standard practice", how ling until it concludes?

60 individuals, each with their own individual submission to the EFL made ASAP. Start on Monday, allowing half a day per to ensure due diligence is observed (and assuming that the vast majority of submissions are available on day 1), makes for 30 days elapsed before all have been vettted/approved and assuming a clean bill of health for all. Mid July at best before a single contract of any sort can be signed by whoever is appointed to represent our new owners. Tick Tick, tick tock.

[Pacaman]

What does 49ers Enterprises’ takeover mean for Leeds United?

Phil Hay
Jun 9, 2023
117
Save Article
White smoke from Elland Road and finally, a takeover that had to happen has reached the point of no return.

49ers Enterprises has formalities to complete before it officially becomes owner of Leeds United, but an agreement in principle with Andrea Radrizzani, announced by the club this evening, effectively spells the end of Radrizzani’s six-year reign.

In some ways, this buy-out has been five years in the making for 49ers Enterprises, the endpoint of the small investment the U.S. fund first made before Leeds were promoted to the Premier League. But what does the takeover mean for the club and what happens next? How has relegation altered 49ers Enterprises’ vision and how will it set about getting the club promoted again?

Here, The Athletic answers some of the questions arising from today’s breakthrough.

Who or what is 49ers Enterprises?

The name itself needs no introduction. The U.S. fund has been on the scene at Leeds as a shareholder since 2018 and its takeover — always planned as a phased process — has been in the pipeline since it increased its stake to more than 30 per cent at the end of 2020.

One point to deal with first: 49ers Enterprises, despite the title, is not the same as the San Francisco 49ers NFL franchise. It is controlled by the owners of the 49ers and its president, Paraag Marathe, has responsibilities across both organisations, but 49ers Enterprises is an investment vehicle, set up to seek private equity opportunities away from NFL. In the past, for example, it has invested in renewable energy technology (albeit with far less fanfare than English football). Leeds, by a distance, are its most high-profile purchase.

For different projects, 49ers Enterprises pulls together different pools of investors, meaning the make-up of the group funding the purchase of Leeds is unique and specific for this deal. The demographic is one of high-net-worth individuals, venture capitalists and private equity firms, merged together as a consortium to finance the buy-out of Leeds. At least one of the major parties has a background in U.S. professional sport. So while there is a clear link to the 49ers NFL team, the NFL team is not itself taking over.

Because of Leeds’ relegation last month, dropping from the Premier League to the Championship, the investment group courted by 49ers Enterprises has changed in the period leading up to Radrizzani’s sale. For instance, one prominent venture capitalist company based on America’s west coast stepped away from the bid. It was prepared to buy into a Premier League team but not one in the EFL. Nonetheless, 49ers Enterprises still had the cash it needed to finalise the deal.

At the core of its group are a collection of around 11 key investors, the big players in this takeover and the source of a high percentage of the cash needed to buy Leeds. The Lowy Group, the Australian family and property empire represented by Leeds director Peter Lowy, has been part of the project for two years now. These are the most relevant people in the project, the biggest sources of finance and those with the strongest influence.

Behind them is a larger collection of more minor investors, seen as bringing “added value” to the buy-out. Many of those injections are far smaller, around the six-figure mark. Some are athletes and most are well-known in either business or celebrity circles. The New Orleans Pelicans basketball player, Larry Nance Jr, gave firm hints about his involvement on Twitter this week. But their influence on strategic matters at Elland Road will be minimal, if indeed they have any.


That is an important aspect of the takeover: as much as there are numerous individuals behind 49ers Enterprises’ acquisition, Leeds will not be run by the whole collective as a committee. Marathe, Leeds’ existing vice-president, becomes club chairman and will have active responsibility for the overall management of United. Collin Meador, a colleague of Marathe’s and another senior figure at 49ers Enterprises, is joining the Elland Road board too. In total, there could be as many as five new directors appointed, representing the investment group.

Marathe and Meador will spend time in England but are expected to be predominantly U.S.-based. As a result, 49ers Enterprises will retain existing Leeds CEO Angus Kinnear to oversee day-to-day operations, ultimately answering to Marathe. Kinnear was heavily involved in bringing the complicated buy-out of Radrizzani to a successful conclusion and is seen as an asset by the Americans, irrespective of the decline in the club’s performance over the past two seasons. One thing 49ers Enterprises is clear about is the need for a larger senior management team at Elland Road.

How much has 49ers Enterprises paid?

What it has paid in this particular transaction and what Leeds United are valued at are two different things. In the end, 49ers Enterprises and Radrizzani were able to agree on a valuation of close to £170million ($213.2m). The exact figure being quoted in the U.S. by people with knowledge of the deal, who remain anonymous to protect relationships, is $209million. That is what Leeds would have cost had 49ers Enterprises been starting from scratch and coming into this process cold.

But prior to shaking hands with Radrizzani, it already owned more than 44 per cent of Leeds so the amount actually due to the Italian for his majority shareholding, equates to somewhere between £90million and £100m. Even then, balancing club losses and liabilities — potentially including the cost of the transfer debacle involving Jean-Kevin Augustin — means the final sum received by Radrizzani will be lower again, closer to £70million. That figure would still mean he walks away with a profit on the £45million he paid Massimo Cellino for Leeds in 2017.

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It is, evidently, a far cry from the sum he stood to receive from 49ers Enterprises had Leeds retained Premier League status. The club’s valuation has dropped significantly from the figure of close to £500million which was negotiated as part of the option 49ers Enterprises had to buy Radrizzani out in January 2024. Discussions between them over the past week or so included talks about a minor bonus payment for Radrizzani if Leeds secure promotion and certain conditions are met but even that will not cover all of the money relegation has cost him.

Is Elland Road included?

Yes. To quickly recap on the ownership structure of Elland Road stadium, rather than being controlled by Leeds United, since 2017 it has been owned by Elland Road Limited, a firm in which Andrea Radrizzani was the major shareholder. In essence, the stadium belonged to him rather than Leeds and the club have been paying a seven-figure sum of rent to Elland Road Limited since they were promoted.

49ers Enterprises already held a minority stake in the company, however, and Meador is one of its board members. The U.S. fund was adamant that if it struck a deal to acquire full control of Leeds, Elland Road would have to be part of the agreement. 49ers Enterprises has major plans for redevelopment of the ground — plans which will now be delayed by relegation — and it had no desire to spend tens of millions of pounds upgrading an arena that was controlled by a third party. Whether Leeds continue to pay annual rent now is another matter.

Elland Road would act as collateral as part of a deal (Photo: Getty Images)
(Photo: Getty Images)
Last week, The Athletic revealed how Radrizzani had offered to use Elland Road as collateral for a bank loan that would have been used to fund the takeover of Sampdoria, which he is trying to complete. While that loan does not appear to have been processed, the news caused major friction with 49ers Enterprises and hardened its insistence that Elland Road be included in a takeover of Leeds. While the ground is likely to remain in the hands of Elland Road Limited, and therefore become 49ers Enterprises property, it should at least be fully in the hands of the club’s owner.

Will Radrizzani have any further involvement at Leeds?

No. There were periods when 49ers Enterprises was open to the idea of it moving into a majority position while Radrizzani retained a smaller shareholding but, as relegation drew closer and their relationship became more tense, it was adamant a full handover was needed. 49ers Enterprises was no longer prepared to do a deal in which Radrizzani maintained ties to Leeds or retained any meaningful authority.

go-deeper
GO DEEPER
Andrea Radrizzani and Leeds' relegation: His rise to power - and 49ers Enterprises' takeover
For Radrizzani’s part, he is working on a different front to try and bring his purchase of Sampdoria to a conclusion. There are other parties involved in his bidding group but even so, that project — assuming it proceeds as planned — will take up a large amount of his time and money. So a complete exit from Elland Road after six years running the club makes sense to him as much as anyone, even if he seemed reluctant to go. This is the end of his era.


Andrea Radrizzani has been at Leeds since 2017 (Photo: Jan Kruger/Getty Images)
What are 49ers Enterprises’ immediate priorities?

The first, by a clear distance, is the appointment of a head coach. It’s already the middle of June and Leeds are talking about a return date of July 2 for the start of pre-season training. While Kinnear has done the initial groundwork on finding a new first-team boss, the club were unable to make a final offer or nail down a decision while the takeover was pending.