Thai group buying Reading FC

Thai group buying Reading FC

A Thai consortium led by led by Khunying Sasima Srivikorn is preparing to invest in the Reading football club, according to the BBC.

Sir John Madejski, the club chairman, confirmed that he had agreed to a "partnership" with the group led by the 76-year-old businesswoman whose family has extensive interests in real estate.

The formalities of the deal are still to be completed, the BBC reported on Friday.

The heavily indebted Championship side has been trying to find a buyer since last October. Majority shareholder Anton Zingarevich stood down from the board in June.

An image posted on the Reading FC website shows Sir John Madejski welcoming Khunying Sasima Srivikorn to the club.

After buying a 51% stake in the club in May 2012, Zingarevich had been due to purchase the remaining 49% of shares from Sir John in September 2013, but he failed to complete the deal.

Zingarevich did not attend a single match last season, and Sir John resumed day-to-day control in February.

"I am absolutely delighted to be entering into this partnership with Sir John, and working with a club with such a strong reputation," Khunying Sasima was quoted as saying on the Reading website.

"I and my fellow investors look forward to supporting Sir John and working toward a successful future together. We are excited about what lies ahead."

Reading officials were in talks with an American hedge fund and an Israeli investor before the Thai investors surfaced.

The purchase would be the third by a Thai investor of an English football team.

Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha (formerly Raksriaksorn), the chairman of the duty-free empire King Power Group, in 2010 paid a reported 2 billion baht for the Championship side Leicester City, which has been promoted to the Premier League for this coming season.

Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra bought the Premiership side Manchester City for 82 million pounds in 2007 but sold the club 15 months later to Abu Dhabi-based investors for a reported profit of 120 million pounds.

Founded in 1871, Reading finished seventh in English football's second tier last season after being relegated from the Premier League in 2013. The club currently has debts of about 21 million pounds, the Reading Post reoported earlier this year.

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