Aston Villa set for yet another takeover bid
Aston Villa Football Club chairman Doug Ellis faces an uncertain future when Randy Lerner, owner of the Cleveland Browns American Football club, was last night linked with a takeover for the Premiership club.
Valued around US$1.2bn (£648m), Lerner is understood to be preparing a deal that could end Ellis's reign at Villa Park.
A spokesman for the Cleveland Browns announced: "We have no comment on this specific matter, but can say that Randy has always maintained interests outside of the Browns and is currently exploring ones in England where he has been involved since 1993."
Reports of Lerner's interest follow a statement Aston Villa made to the stock exchange last week when the club revealed that two parties, one from the United Kingdom and the other from overseas, had entered into discussions with a view to possibly making an offer. Michael Neville, whose consortium hopes to present a financial package to Ellis within the next few days, is the other main player involved in the takeover talks.
Doug Ellis confirmed his decision to sell his stake in the football club last year, although doubts remain over his willingness to surrender control. Ellis has maintained that he will step aside although only when he perceives that potential buyers have the interests of the club at heart. As a life-long Villa fan Neville would appear to fulfill that criterion, however the strength of his financial backing remains questionable.
It is believed that Ellis has reduced his asking price from £64 million to £57 million although the decrease is relative given that Villa recently sold land adjacent to the stadium.
Randy Lerner, 44, has an estimated $1.2 billion fortune and is chairman of the credit-card company MBNA. Business magazine Forbes currently ranks his Cleveland Browns NFL franchise as the seventh most valuable in North America at $892 million.
Date: 25.07.06
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