By David Gold
June 3 – English Championship side Portsmouth has a fourth new owner in just two years after Convers Sports Initiatives, an organisation owned by Russian businessman Vladimir Antonov, was given the green light by the Football League to complete a £17 million ($28 million) takeover.
Convers are the global promoters of the World Rally Championship and last March purchased a 65 per cent share in Executive Sport Limited, which is the parent company of the “Leaders in Football” conference.
Antonov’s company completed their takeover after agreeing a deal with outgoing chairman Banram Chanrai.
Portsmouth’s ownership has swapped hands regularly in recent times, with Alexandre Gaydamak bankrolling a period of success which culminated in an FA Cup win in 2008, before he sold the club to Dr Sulaiman Al-Fahim the following year.
Under Al-Fahim, the team’s finances rapidly deteriorated and players were not paid, leading to a takeover by Chanrai, under whom Portsmouth entered administration and were subsequently relegated.
Antonov, 36, has a reputed worth of some £200 million ($329 million) from investment banking and other sporting ventures.
The Russian has enjoyed his fair share of controversy in the past, with a Lithuanian based bank he owns once denied the right to operate in the United Kingdom due to ‘incomplete’ information given to regulators.
Antonov said: “We selected Portsmouth because of its history, loyal fan base and potential to return to the Premier League.”
Portsmouth chief executive David Lampitt added: “It has been a long and complex process but now we can start to put plans in place for the future.
“The rebuilding of this club is a long-term project.”
The club, who were relegated from the Premier League at the end of last season, stabilised themselves in the Championship this season after an awful start to the campaign under manager Steve Cotterill.
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