Tony Fernandes, Malaysian airline entrepreneur, is poised to take majority control of Queens Park Rangers, the English Premiership football club, as early as Monday, according to people with knowledge of the transaction.
Mr Fernandes, owner of the low-cost airline AirAsia, is close to finalising a deal where he will buy a 51 per cent stake in the newly promoted West London club from Bernie Ecclestone, the Formula One motor racing chief.The balance of Mr Ecclestone’s 62 per cent holding would be acquired by Lakshmi Mittal, the UK-based Indian steel magnate who already holds a 33 per cent stake.
The deal would complete Mr Fernandes’ long quest for ownership of a premiership club. He has several times tried and failed to buy West Ham United, the biggest soccer club in east London.
It would also provide a way out of a difficult situation at QPR for Mr Ecclestone, whose relationship with Mr Mittal has become increasingly fraught.
However, people with knowledge of the deal cautioned that it had not been sealed and could be delayed or even collapse as the parties sought to reach agreement on final details.
The price was unclear, although those close to the deal said Mr Fernandes would not be paying anything close to the £100m Mr Ecclestone was said to be seeking.
The outline deal may also provide the opportunity for a continuing role in the shareholding for Flavio Briatore, the former team principal of Renault F1 who was QPR chairman until last year and who retains a small stake.
Mr Fernandes, who with Mr Briatore watched QPR lose 4-0 at home to Bolton Wanderers on Saturday in the first match of the premier league season, is one of Asia’s boldest and most successful entrepreneurs.
Neither Mr Ecclestone nor Mr Mittal was at the match. Mr Ecclestone did not return calls on Sunday asking for his views on the matter, while aides said Mr Mittal was on holiday and unavailable for comment.
With interests ranging from airlines to hotels and telecoms through his privately held Tune Group, Mr Fernandes’ best known business is Kuala Lumpur based AirAsia, one of the most rapidly growing budget airlines in the region.
The English Premier League is highly popular in many parts of Asia, with widespread reporting on matches and broadcasting of live matches in many countries, including Malaysia and Singapore – both big markets for AirAsia.
Mr Fernandes last week announced a deal where he acquired informal control of state-owned Malaysian Airline System through a 20.5 per cent stake held by Tune.
In return, he gave the Malaysian government a 10 per cent holding in AirAsia and a similar interest in AirAsia X, a separately owned and managed long haul budget carrier.
Mr Fernandes, who has a keen eye for the value of sporting links in building brands for his businesses, is in his second year as proprietor of the Lotus F1 motor racing team, which he sees as a significant provider of publicity for AirAsia even though his holding in the airline is separate from his private investment in the racing team.
By Kevin Brown
Taken from : http://www.ft.com
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