SOS Investment Confirmed
With the rumours of the last 24 hours whirling around of Middle East and then Egyptian investment into Aston Villa, it’s good to see a sudden announcement from the club confirming full details of the investment (see below).
Judging by the fact ‘the capital injection and transaction have been approved by the EFL’, it seems the process has been ticking away under the radar during the past week or so, until the Birmingham Mail announced yesterday there was Middle East interest.
Something was in the air and it’s obviously a weight off every supporters shoulders in the immediate term, since bills and wages can be paid and we can finally focus on the season in a proper manner.
That being said, there is still the issue of FFP and the alleged £40m we have to balance out in the books, but you would hope that Nassef Sawiris and Wes Eden will bring potential avenues and strategy to tackle that in a positive manner.
The fact there’s been some proactive action on Villa’s part in remedying the overall financial situation and that they have been in consultation with the EFL along the way, should buy some favour.
Obviously, the details will become clearer over time, but in terms of keeping Jack Grealish, as MOMS always maintained, since Spurs would try to low ball us on the price, it would give us time to potentially get investment in and not need to act so desperate with them.
There’s no guarantee of keeping him, but there is now at least a flicker of hope.
More soon, but in case you haven’t read it, here’s the statement below:
CLUB STATEMENT
Investment in Aston Villa Football Club
Dr Tony Xia and Aston Villa Football Club (“the Club”) announce that NSWE, a company that is jointly owned and controlled by businessman Nassef Sawiris’ group NNS and businessman Wes Edens, will immediately inject significant investment capital into the Club. At the same time, Dr Tony Xia will become Co-Chairman and remain on the board.
The capital injection and transaction have been approved by the EFL and the parties will work through all confirmatory approvals required by the EFL as soon as possible.
The Club’s management remain focused on strengthening the squad and are fully aligned with the new investors who are supportive of their ambitions.
Dr Tony Xia and the Club are energised and excited about their interactions with Nassef and Wes and their teams and are confident that as strategic partners they bring exceptional business, sport and leisure expertise that will enhance the Club’s future prospects. The parties look forward to working in partnership to drive Aston Villa forward to success.
Dr Tony Xia commented:
“I am extremely pleased to have formed a strategic partnership with Nassef and Wes. We have a common goal of delivering future success for Aston Villa and I look forward to working together to achieve this aim.
“To have come so close to achieving promotion last season was a humbling experience. In finding such strong partners as Nassef and Wes we’re gearing up to fight again and bring back the success that this Club deserves and we all so want to provide it with.
“The future is exciting on a number of fronts and I look forward to exploring further business collaborations.”
Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens commented:
“As lifelong football fans, we are excited and privileged to have become part of this great Club. We believe that together we bring business and sports experience that will help strengthen the Club to ensure Aston Villa can return to its rightful place in the upper echelons of English Football.
“Our goal is to bring sustainable success to the Club, building on its rich history while respecting its loyal fan base and unique culture. We understand that we are stewards of Aston Villa on behalf of the fans and we take that responsibility seriously.
“We look forward to working with Dr Tony to undertake a thorough assessment and evaluation of the Club in the coming weeks and our priority is to strengthen the squads and structures ahead of the upcoming season and beyond.”
New Podcast episode incoming…
Phew no administration for a year. Despite his incompetent failures, and let’s not forget he came close, Xai has seemingly done a great job with the new investment. FFP will be restrictive due to the financial disasters created by Bruce, Xai, Round and Wyness. Taking away loans Bruce has made 9 signings 9 more wages, out of those only Hourihane is a regular starter!! The rest are virtually worthless squad players on good money. During the same period to compensate players were sent out on loan. Most of these are now back , hardly played a game , and are worthless won’t play but will get millions in wages. It seems like next season’s season ticket money, land, parachute payments and sponserships have already been spent. Where’s the money coming from to run the club. Will the new owners fund. If so what are ffp consequences ? Only sales of Grealish, Chester Bjarnason, and paying off other contracts can make a difference. We have to get players we have, who were previously the best at this level and above, plus good youth prospects, to play. Bruce’s record in this is nothing short of disaterous. But it’s another £5 to pay him off? However, we still have a huge talented squad that should be in a better position than most if not all our rivals.
UPDATE: it looks like Xia DID sell. The Financial Times has this to say:
“Egyptian billionaire Nassef Sawiris and Fortress Investment co-founder Wes Edens have acquired a 55 per cent stake in Aston Villa, taking control of the one of the oldest clubs in English professional football which has been in the midst of a financial crisis.The Birmingham-based team — which plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football — said that NSWE, a group co-owned by Mr Sawiris and Mr Edens, “will immediately inject significant investment capital into the club”.A person close to the deal said NSWE would take a 55 per cent stake in the club for £30m, in effect taking over as the club’s owner from Tony Xia, a Chinese businessman who acquired Aston Villa two years ago. Details of the transaction were first reported by Bloomberg.”
So maybe, just maybe, this is better news
Hhmm…a mystery. If these new guys are so rich and keen, why didn’t Xia sell? Because he didn’t want to sell perhaps? But why? Hard to see why these new investors want to pump money into a busted bag of wind like Xia.
My bet? It looks something like the AC Milan ‘solution’. Namely, a cash-strapped Chinese nonentity gets out of his depth; raises money from a hedge fund against the asset (ie. Villa); defaults on the loan repayments; and the club gets taken over by the hedge fund guys.
And the hedge funds guys then asset-strip the club. As AC Milan
well if they mean what they say. ( strengthen the squad ) then they wont sell grealish. and if so, the gods have come to our rescue
If true it’s the best news that we have had for a long time, and wouldn’t it be great if there was a possibility of telling Levy and his cronies to take a hike, all he’s been doing is trying to screw us over our financial position and get Jack on the cheap. OK FFP is still there but if our new investors are worth their salt in business Im certain that there must be ways around this, anyway it’s about time we had something positive to hang on to and let’s hope it’s the start of something good for the club and for the fans
TJ Newton – really ? In summer 1976 I stayed at the home of the woman (registered guide) who was tasked with looking after “T J Newton” around Phoenix when he wasn’t making the movie, just a few months earlier…apparently he wore a dress off-set almost every day.
Haha. Good spot and good story (thanks for sharing).