June 15 – The Premier League has cleared Chinese businessman Dr Tony Xia to complete his £76 million takeover of Aston Villa. Xia is buying the club, relegated from the Premier League this season, from American Randy Lerner who paid £62.2 million in 2006.
Xia will become chairman of the club and has already brought in former Aberdeen and Everton CEO Keith Wyness to run the business. Roberto di Matteo has been appointed manager. There is also a place on the board as vice chairman for financier Chris Samuelson.
For Lerner the price is a significant mark down from the £100 million+ he was originally seeking when he first let it be known Villa was for sale three years ago. But with the relegation of Villa from the Premier League to the Championship, came the price drop.
Xia will pay £52 million to buy the club and assume a £24 million overdraft. He said he will contribute a further £60 million in operating costs.
Villa’s relegation season was a miserable experience for the fans, players and club. Xia is expected to pup £30 million into a transfer budget to enable de Matteo to recruit players that will get the club back into the Premier League at the first time of asking.
Xia’s main business interest is Recon Group, a holding company that has the controlling interest in five publicly listed companies on the Hong Kong and Chinese stock exchanges. His companies employ 35,000 people in 75 countries.
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