Barnsley taken over by consortium headed by Chien Lee and Paul Conway
Tuesday 19 December 2017 13:50, UK
Barnsley have confirmed a deal has been agreed to transfer ownership of the club to a consortium led by Chinese-American investor Chien Lee.
The Sky Bet Championship club confirmed on Tuesday the EFL has granted approval for the takeover and new shareholders have taken their place on the club's board.
Lee's New City Capital firm and Pacific Media Group, headed by Paul Conway and Grace Hung, have been in talks with the Cryne family for a number of months, with owner Patrick Cryne having revealed in September he is "living on borrowed time" because of terminal cancer.
Lee and Conway are both involved with French Ligue 1 side OGC Nice, where Lee is chairman and Conway is a director - they will act as co-chairmen at Oakwell.
Their consortium also includes Billy Beane, the American baseball executive who made the "Moneyball" approach to assembling a competitive team famous with his work at the small-market Oakland Athletics.
"We are very excited to partner with the Cryne family and invest in Barnsley Football Club," Lee said.
"The Cryne family have exhibited spectacular leadership building Barnsley Football Club over the last 14 years and we are excited to join them to further the growth of the club."
Conway added: "Similar to our investment in OGC Nice, we expect to further enhance the academy, playing squad, commercial operations and fan experience of Barnsley Football Club.
"Barnsley has some of the most passionate fans in England and we look forward to meeting many of its supporters in the upcoming weeks."
