The bid presented by the Media tycoon for Portsmouth’s acquisition has been accepted by fans and shareholders.
American businessman and former Disney chief Michael Eisner got approval to purchase the English soccer club Portsmouth. Fans and shareholders of the English football club voted on a £5.67 million ($7.38 million) takeover bid that Eisner presented through his Tornante investment group. On Friday, the ballot closed positively for the businessman.
“81.4% of its equity holders agreed to a sale” – stated the club.
Since 2005, Eisner is running Tornante Company, which invests in and acquires media and entertainment.
Eisner’s first important step toward the acquisition of the club has been done. In the coming weeks, the final terms of the contract will be sealed. In addition, the media tycoon has committed to investing an additional £10 million ($13 million) in the club.
Michael Eisner will join a wide group of foreign owners which decided to invest in English Soccer. In 2003, the Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich purchased Chelsea and the U.S.’s Glazer family completed Manchester United’s deal. Also, Manchester City, Everton, and Arsenal have non-British owners.
English soccer is very desirable for foreign investors mainly due to the revenue from television rights that for the top tier of English soccer (the Premier League) are worth £10.4 billion ($13.5 billion) over three years, the highest in the world.
Portsmouth is a glorious club who played in the Premier League as well but, at one point, it fell into bankruptcy. The club was saved through the setting up of an ownership group led by a fans’ organization.
