MOT View: Look out QSI, there’s a new buyer in town and they’ve got £440m+ to spend
Angus Kinnear has said that the club wants fresh investment in Leeds United over the next 12 months.
Owner Andrea Radrizzani has talked takeover before, most famously when he said QSI funds could propel Leeds into the same spending bracket as Man City.
That’s not another minority stake, that’s with QSI as owners.
Radrizzani is heavily invested in Leeds but he’s a businessman first and foremost and there will come a time when he will cash in his chips at Elland Road.
We hope that’s not in the near future. We think Radrizzani has done an incredible job at Leeds.
He’s hired Marcelo Bielsa, got Leeds back in the Premier League, bought back Elland Road… the list goes on.
Consolidation in the Premier League is key now and that will take 2-3 years according to Radrizzani himself.
The best chance Leeds have is keeping hold of Bielsa and the best chance of that happening is under Radrizzani.
Even if Radrizzani does sell, QSI might have some fierce competition for Leeds as there’s a new buyer in town for a Premier League club and they’ve raised £440m already.
As reported in The Athletic: “The former Premier League boss Richard Scudamore has been appointed to the board of a US-listed company that has been set up to invest in European football, with a Premier League club understood to be top of its wish list.
“RedBall Acquisition Corp’s founders had been hoping to raise $500 million in an initial public offering (IPO) last week but high demand from investors meant underwriters sold another $75 million’s worth of shares, bringing the total to $575 million (almost £440 million).”
The report claims that RedBall is significant because of its money – and the Athletic claims that could be “greatly increased once a deal is struck” – and the calibre of people involved.
Newcastle would be an obvious target but Leeds have a huge potential upside, with Radrizzani talking about a billion-pound valuation in the future.
Radrizzani himself said, “We’ve got lots of people interested in the club now, the club is probably the most investable proposition in world football.”
We don’t want a takeover at the moment because of the reasons outlined above.
But, if we were looking to buy a Premier League football club, Leeds would be right at the top of the list.
In other Leeds United news, BBC journalist: Leeds in early talks in move for big-name striker, could ‘match & improve’ wages