A consortium led by a Channel 3 subsidiary is in discussions over a 40-million-pound takeover of English second-tier football club Bolton Wanderers after being approached by the cash-strapped strugglers.
Chelsea's English defender Gary Cahill (left) vies with Bolton Wanderers English-born Jamaican striker Jermaine Beckford during an English League Cup match at Stamford Bridge in London. A consortium led by a Channel 3 subsidiary company is in discussions over a 40-million-pound takeover of Bolton, the second-tier football club. (AFP photo)
BEC-Tero, an entertainment conglomerate which runs television and radio stations in Southeast Asia as well as concerts and sports events, and local sports media giant Siam Sport Syndicate have joined hands for the bid.
Bolton finished sixth in the Premier League in 2005 and qualified for European competition but have fallen on hard times of late and now find themselves in 22nd place in the 24-team second flight with huge debts.
However, BEC director Bryan Marcar said the club, based in the northwest of England and owned by Eddie Davies through the holding company Burnden Leisure, remained an attractive prospect.
Marcar, who declined an interview request from Reuters, said he and Siam Sport executives Pongsak Pholanan and Wiluck Lohtong would travel to England to look into the books and discuss the deal further with Bolton officials.
The consortium could become the third Thai owners of an English soccer club after Premier League side Leicester City and Bolton's second-tier rivals Reading.
The firm, which Marcar owns jointly with broadcaster BEC World Pcl, also owns former Thai Premier League champions BEC Tero Sasana.
The club currently employs former Chelsea manager Avram Grant as a technical director and once had ex-England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson as head coach.
It also has links with Brazilian club Cruzeiro FC and are close to announcing a deal with an unnamed Italian Serie A side, Marcar said.
Bolton have recently appointed Neil Lennon as manager with the former Northern Ireland international winning two of his first three games in charge.