Another US business consortium has its eyes on an English soccer club, this time Coventry City of the League Championship, the division below the Premier League.
The club said on Wednesday that it is in advanced takeover talks with investors Sean McDevitt and Philip Harris, who are negotiating through a company called Manhattan Sports Capital Partners.
Coventry issued a statement saying it had been dealing with the US group through a British investor, Gary Hopkins, who is a lifelong fan of the central English club. Coventry have won only one major trophy, the FA Cup in 1987.
"The Manhattan group are at an early stage of their due diligence and it will not be possible for some time to be sure whether or not the deal will go ahead," the statement said. "We hope it will."
The Sky Blues, who were relegated from the Premier League in 2001 after 34 consecutive seasons in the top flight, are reportedly ?28 million (US$54 million) in debt.
The club has not come close to a return to the Premier League and is eighth from last in the League Championship standings.
"We have made it clear to the Manhattan group that any new arrangements for the club must involve substantial investment in improving and strengthening the squad to achieve the club's Premiership ambitions," the statement said.
Some of the biggest clubs in English soccer are already in US hands.
Malcolm Glazer, owner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers football team, bought Manchester United. Cleveland Browns owner Randy Lerner took over Aston Villa. Tom Hicks, owner of the NHL's Dallas Stars and Major League Baseball's Texas Rangers, and George Gillett, owner of the Montreal Canadiens hockey team, have a controlling interest in Liverpool.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB