SPORTS AGENDA: Sulaiman buys up Pompey for £80m
Play up Pompey: UAE businessman Dr Sulaiman Al Fahim has agreed a deal to buy Portsmouth FC
Portsmouth, whose lavish spending almost put them out of business, were sold to outspoken billionaire businessman Dr Sulaiman Al Fahim yesterday following two days of talks in Rome before the Champions League final.
The negotiations were carried out by Portsmouth chief executive Peter Storrie, agent Pini Zahavi and another major football fixer, Pairoj Piempongsant - the Thai businessman who brokered the deal that saw Thaksin Shinawatra sell Manchester City to the Abu Dhabi United Group.
The setting was the top-floor open-air bar of the Sofitel hotel overlooking the Eternal City. Storrie returned to the UK yesterday morning after a sizeable full breakfast without staying for the match, his job done after a clinching takeover summit on Tuesday night with Sulaiman.
The sale, which is now the subject of due diligence, ensures Portsmouth will not suffer the potential ignominy of being the first Premier League club to go into administration.
UAE property developer Sulaiman was the frontman for the Abu Dhabi United Group after their purchase of Manchester City, whose bold predictions included the signing of Cristiano Ronaldo, before City owner Sheik Mansour opted for a lower profile.
Sulaiman is understood to be paying £80million for Portsmouth through his new investment vehicle, Al Fahim Asia Associates. Pompey had debts of around £65m with £40m owed to the South African Standard Bank and another £25m in loans to current owner Alexandre Gaydamak.
The agreement, just before Standard Bank were due a huge repayment that was in danger of taking Pompey under, means a firesale of players is averted. Instead the club will have unexpected spending power for next season, by when it is likely that manager Paul Hart will have been replaced.
Zahavi, who is involved in more big deals than any other agent, was close to securing a South African buyer for Portsmouth before Sulaiman got the taste for Premier League football ownership from his Manchester City experience.
