Sources: Leeds United takeover mystery revealed amid new 49ers twist
The exact breakdown of the investment that will see 49ers Enterprises take full control of Leeds United has not yet been finalised, sources have told Football Insider.
Leeds’ current majority owner Andrea Radrizzani has agreed a deal that gives the 49ers the option for a full takeover by January 2024, although it is now likely that the transition of power will be complete by the summer.
It is, however, understood that the precise makeup of the deal – the exact source of the funds and post-takeover board structure among other intricacies – has not yet been decided.
The fee itself is set in stone and does not vary in the event of relegation, and the 49ers are committed to the deal even if Leeds do fall out of the top flight at the end of the current campaign.
But, as a well-placed mergers and acquisitions source told Football Insider, it is “simply not the case that all there is left to do is execute the deal.”
49ers Enterprises, the investment arm of NFL titans San Francisco 49ers, is effectively a venture capital fund and has ample liquidity to finance the deal.
But the group has received interest from a number of financiers who want to play a role in the takeover, perhaps with a view to having operational input after the deal is complete.
Whether 49ers grandees – the York family and Leeds vice-chairman Paraag Marathe – are receptive to a more diversified approach is not known.
But the firm does have a track record of bringing the right stakeholders together, with a focus on expertise as opposed to finance alone.
In other news, Leeds United have “concrete” interest in sealing marquee signing.