05 October 2010 à 13:38
Vijay Mallya is reportedly in talks to buy the London football team Queens Park Rangers.
The club is currently owned by F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone and banned former Renault team boss Flavio Briatore.
The Evening Standard newspaper said Mallya, the Indian billionaire and owner and boss of the F1 team Force India, is eying a ‘significant’ stake in QPR, who are currently top of the second division.
Julian Bennetts
Indian tycoon Vijay Mallya is negotiating to buy a “significant” percentage of Queens Park Rangers in a deal which could see Flavio Briatore and Bernie Ecclestone leave the club.
Standard Sport understands talks have been going on for more than a month and sources suggest an agreement with the businessman, who is worth around £900million, could be reached within two weeks.
Mallya is chairman of the United Breweries Group, which owns Kingfisher Beer, and it is thought Kingfisher will become one of the club's principal sponsors if the deal is struck.
He already has sporting interests as he owns the Force India Formula One team and Indian Premier League cricket outfit, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and was linked with a move for QPR two years ago.
That approach fell through but with Briatore and Ecclestone both keen on severing their ties with the club after taking a backseat role in February, a deal is now more likely.
Briatore was widely criticised for his hands-on approach to running QPR during his two-and-a-half years as chairman, in which he appointed 10 different managers.
The controversial Italian stepped down from his role in February after coming under intense pressure from fans, and is now thought to have decided to sell his shares, as the supporters would not welcome him back at Loftus Road.
The family of Lakshmi Mittal, the world's fifth-richest man, are now in charge of the Championship leaders.
Mittal's son-in-law, Amit Bhatia, is vice-chairman of QPR Holdings Ltd — the company that owns the club — with business associate Ishan Saksena the chairman. Mittal has a fortune of more than £18billlion and Mallya's arrival would cement QPR's status as one of the world's richest clubs.
That partnership would give Neil Warnock even greater financial clout in the transfer market although he has so far stuck to a policy of working with bargain signings. These include Jamie Mackie, who has scored eight goals since a £150,000 move from Plymouth in May.
However, the manager will have every reason to splash out next summer if QPR win promotion to the Premier League.
As well as Force India, Mallya also owns Indian cricket team Royal Challengers.
The report claims that Ecclestone and Briatore, who stepped down as chairman in February, are keen to sever their ties with the club. The talks have reportedly been taking place for more than a month, with an agreement possible within two weeks.
QPR's other owner is Lakshmi Mittal, the Indian steel tycoon who is the world's fifth richest man.
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