Blackburn Rovers have confirmed that the club has been sold to Venky's London Limited for £23million.
Rao family seal £23million purchase
Blackburn Rovers have confirmed that the club has been sold to Venky's London Limited for £23million.
The Board of Blackburn Rovers Football and Athletic plc (BRF&A) has announced that BRFC Investments Limited (a company indirectly wholly owned by the Jack Walker 1987 Settlement) has sold its 99.9 per cent shareholding to Venky's, a newly formed company owned by the Rao family.
The sum agreed works out at 17.17 pence per share, and Venky's are now set to make an equivalent offer to the club's minority shareholders who own the other 0.1 per cent stake.
Rovers' new owners have an extensive range of business interests in India and around the world, including their flagship company Venkateshwara Hatcheries Private Limited, the parent company of Venky's (India) Limited, which is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
With Rovers having experienced financial difficulties in recent times, it is hoped that the takeover will breathe new life into the club and allow them to remain competitive in the Premier League.
Paul Egerton-Vernon, chairman of the Jack Walker Settlement Trustees, told the club's
official website: "We are very pleased to be passing on the Rovers to the Rao family. We have been impressed with their enthusiasm for the club and their plans and ideas for further investment to develop it further as their wish and commitment to preserve the legacy of Jack Walker.
"We are particularly pleased that the club will continue in family ownership and that the existing management team at Rovers led by John Williams will continue unchanged.
"Over the last 10 years, the global appeal of the Premier League has grown significantly and it is only natural that, as we have seen at other clubs, international ownership and investment should increase."
Humbled
Venky's are delighted to have completed the purchase of Rovers and believe they can lead the club into an exciting new future.
Anuradha J Desai, chairperson of Venky's, said: "We are delighted, proud and humbled to be associated with Blackburn Rovers, a team with whom we share many values and ambitions.
"Going forward we plan to focus on leveraging the global influence in establishing Blackburn Rovers as a truly global brand.
"Blackburn Rovers is an historic institution that has won the Premier League and we want the fans to embrace us so that we are able to do our best in the interests of the club."
Mr. Venkateshwara Rao, joint managing director of Venky's, added: "We are truly honoured to be working with such an historic club and are committed to creating a long-term financial platform which the club can use to realise its obvious potential on and off the field.
"It is as a team that this club has succeeded in the past and it is as a team that this club will achieve great things in the future."
