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49ers Enterprises will take over Leeds United on July 1st if they avoid relegation
49ers Enterprises will complete their takeover of Leeds United on July 1st 2023 if the club avoid relegation, according to De Telegraaf.
The Whites are part-owned by the American franchise currently, with Andrea Radrizzani holding a majority stake and the 49ers having an option to takeover the club completely in 2024.
However reports have recently suggested that the club will look to get this process done in the summer rather than the middle of the season, and now Dutch outlet De Telegraaf have put a date on when the transaction could go through.
“Leeds United will come into American hands on July 1 and it is a must to avoid relegation,” they wrote (13 February).
A deal is expected to be worth around £400m, but relegation is likely to see that valuation drop significantly.
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A takeover is always a long, drawn out process, but this Leeds one has been on the cards for a while now.
It’s long been spoken about that the American investment would turn into ownership sooner rather than later, and the American feel of the club has grown in recent years with signings on the pitch and appointments off it.
Should the club avoid relegation this season then it seems like a pretty straightforward deal to do, with Radrizzani openly admitting that he is likely to step aside.
But relegation could put a spanner in the works for the deal because of the costs, so it’s imperative that Leeds are able to avoid relegation for that reason alone if nothing else.
July 1st makes a lot of sense, although it would be weird for that to be known by a Dutch newspaper and not reliable Leeds journalists like Phil Hay or Graham Smyth first.
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