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Aston Villa: Dr Tony Xia completes takeover of Championship club

By Pat MurphyBBC Radio 5 live

Last updated on .From the section Footballcomments103

Dr Tony Xia
Dr Tony Xia is chairman, chief executive and owner of the Recon Group, a Beijing and Hangzhou-based private holding company

Chinese businessman Dr Tony Xia has completed his £76m takeover of Championship club Aston Villa.

The 39-year-old has passed the Premier League and Football League's fit and proper person test and will become chairman of the West Midlands side.

He succeeds American Randy Lerner, who bought Villa for £62.6m in 2006.

Villa were relegated from the Premier League for the first time last season, finishing bottom, and have since named Roberto di Matteo as manager.

Dr Xia spent six years at Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, including five months at Oxford University, before returning to China.

He made his fortune as the owner of Recon Group, a holding company that has the controlling interest in five publicly listed companies on the Hong Kong and Chinese stock exchanges, employing 35,000 people in 75 countries.

His takeover comprises a £52m purchase price and a £24m overdraft. In addition, he will contribute £60m in operating costs.

Dr Xia met the Football League's Shaun Harvey in London on Monday for formal confirmation he had passed the owners' and directors' test, after the Premier League had been satisfied in its investigations.

The new Villa vice-chairman is Chris Samuelson, an international financier who has been involved in a failed takeover at fellow Championship club Reading.

He also attempted to inject finances into Premier League Everton more than a decade ago.

The new chief executive is Keith Wyness, who filled the same role at Scottish Premiership club Aberdeen, then Everton.

Samuelson was instrumental in getting Dr Xia interested in the Villa project and introduced the new owner to Wyness.

Dr Xia is expected to inject about £30m into the transfer fund available to former Chelsea, West Brom and Schalke boss Di Matteo as he rebuilds a first-team squad that won only three league games last season.

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103 comments

  • Comment posted by BearMcRowdy, at 07:31 14 Jun 2016

    He's passed the Premier League fit and proper test. Read: has money.

    Does he have a decent moral compass and a genuine care for the club and it's future? Time will tell

    Good luck to Villa. Hope this new ownership is a good thing and not like some of the others we have seen

  • Comment posted by hestheboss, at 07:55 14 Jun 2016

    Dr Xia appears to far too qualified to be involved in football but good luck to Villa. Historic team needs to rebuild to get them back to the top. Hopefully some intelligence may work.

  • Comment posted by Eat_The_Rich, at 08:29 14 Jun 2016

    Is there anything in Britain that isn't for sale? The whole country is owned by foreign investors.

  • Comment posted by U16080241, at 08:07 14 Jun 2016

    I'm a very jealous Wolves supporter. The only way to challenge for honours appears to be to get a foreign owner. They are the ones with the money to make a difference.

  • Comment posted by Cos-my-neighbour-said-so, at 07:51 14 Jun 2016

    Got himself a very cheap deal there didn't he. Glad to see the back of Lerner frankly...a man who had NO idea about football and being American was clueless as to the needs of a top footballing club.
    Good luck to the club in the long term and hope the new owner can repair the mess the previous owner left.

  • Comment posted by U15435058, at 07:27 14 Jun 2016

    Villa have a Champions League winning manager and now a new owner who will surely give his all in getting them back where they belong, in the Premier League again. Good luck to them.

  • Comment posted by More Like It, at 09:00 14 Jun 2016

    24. Posted by Eurows

    Whatever happens, he can't be worse than the previous incumbent...can he???

    ____________

    Leeds said that about Bates!

    ----

    did they also say it about Massimo Cellino? A man with 2 prior criminal convictions before his most recent case, and who passed the Premier League & Football League fit & proper person test based on that.

  • Comment posted by SPL, at 07:54 14 Jun 2016

    This will only end one way however positive you try to be. Too many examples of failed foreign owners who know nothing about football - including one just the other side of the Expressway. Businessmen are interested in business - making money

  • Comment posted by Old Father Thames, at 09:42 14 Jun 2016

    Football clubs were, once upon a time, community organisations, clubs and the football they played were for their local people.

    That might not sound very glamorous but I feel fans and perhaps also players benefitted much more from local pride in their team and an increased sense of community.

    What is left from that era? Not much. Foreign owners, managers, staff, players, supporters.

  • Comment posted by col, at 10:21 14 Jun 2016

    @8

    You say lerner made a profit.

    Are you a moron?

    He paid £63M for the club and before last year had lost about £240M, including waiving interest on loans he made to the club.

    Taking into account the £76m sale price(down from an expected £150-200m before relegation) he has lost about 35% of everything he owns backing Villa.

    I bet the Doc won't throw that sort of money at the club.

  • Comment posted by dee, at 09:59 14 Jun 2016

    52. Posted by U11846789
    Dr is an earned title. You hardly see anyone call sir Alex just Alex. Dunno why you're hurt about it though. An MIT doctorate shouldn't be dismissed so cheaply

  • Comment posted by U16555417, at 09:28 14 Jun 2016

    There are some interesting stories online about Chris Samuelson and Everton, around his promise to deliver funds for the club that never materialised; leaving us in deep financial trouble. Really hope this isn't the case for Villa. Here's a bit of the BBC story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/e/everton/4072101.stm

  • Comment posted by U16322477, at 11:44 14 Jun 2016

    Money, money, money

    If your club's performed badly, don't worry, another foreign billionaire will transform it...

    They may stamp on the soul of the club, ban fans groups, crush youth teams and local schemes, but it's ok, you'll get a top player or two 'earning' as much as everyone in the front couple of rows of seats

    Good luck Villa
    You'll need it

  • Comment posted by Chrislabiff, at 08:57 14 Jun 2016

    11.

    What's this "We" thing ?!

    Britain was never "Great".

    It wasn't us sold Uk downriver, nor pocketed the silver.

    It was our owners - same now as then.

  • Comment posted by U16322705, at 08:57 14 Jun 2016

    31. Posted by JoeJordansDentist

    Maybe he will invest the same again in the youth academy, and have an entire team of homegrown youngsters by 2020 dominating the league, or just buy foreign duds seeing out their career on obscene amounts of cash, provided by the ripped off fans
    -------

    OK but nobody breaks their arm to hand over the cash.
    If anything fans rip themselves off!
    No sympathy.

  • Comment posted by Casper, at 08:54 14 Jun 2016

    @8 Jerry Davids. Lerner has in no way left with more money than he started. I don't particularly like the bloke but he invested in excess of 200 million on players, salaries, the training setup at Bodymoor Heath and some parts of the ground. He also left a 24m debt with HSBC which is now cleared. I'd say he's well out of pocket

  • Comment posted by HolteEnder, at 08:34 14 Jun 2016

    22. Posted by BrendansBoys
    on
    29 minutes ago
    Tinpot club, tinpot owner. They will probably get relegated again now.

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Tin pot comment. Try to be more original...puleeaasse!

    Great news for Villa. Some new blood and an ambitious new owner.
    We will journey on!

  • Comment posted by U15865344, at 07:51 14 Jun 2016

    @10 Laundry? I'm pretty sure his money wouldn't withstand the force of a washing machine.

  • Comment posted by Romski, at 07:32 14 Jun 2016

    This could be good news for AV, assuming Chines are not coming here just to do laundry their money. But saying that, all of the rich owners are doing it via football clubs.

  • Comment posted by Ermac, at 07:24 14 Jun 2016

    Whatever happens, he can't be worse than the previous incumbent...can he???

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