As a result of a consultation with elite clubs, there is universal support for restrictions that would restrict the capacity to engage in so-called leveraged buyouts.
The Premier League is leaning toward prohibiting debt-fueled club takeovers as part of a larger revamp of English football administration.
Details of such limitations have yet to be finalized, but will be considered at Thursday’s annual meeting of the League’s “shareholders.”
“The question is not whether there will be a suspension, but rather what form it should take,” a Premier League club executive stated.
Revisions to the Owners and Directors Test (OADT) involving leveraged buyouts will be debated at the AGM before a formal vote in September, as disclosed last month.
A prohibition on debt-fueled takeovers would not be enforced retroactively, but if enacted, it would bar the type of transaction that allowed the Glazer family to acquire Manchester United in 2005.
The financial health of Burnley, the Lancashire club relegated to the Championship last month, has also been called into question.
Burnley is owned by ALK Capital, an American company rumored to have used club funds to finance a £170m buyout.
The annual meeting of the Premier League takes place just days after the completion of the most tumultuous club takeover in the history of English football, with Roman Abramovich, a sanctioned Russian oligarch, selling Chelsea to a consortium majority-funded by Clearlake Capital.
In addition to the £2.5 billion acquisition price, the new owners will invest an additional £1.75 billion in Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge stadium, academy, and women’s squad, thanks to guarantees provided by Mr. Abramovich’s advisors at the US merchant bank Raine Group.
The Premier League’s assessment of the OADT has been in the works for months, with the controversy surrounding the takeover of Newcastle United by a consortium led by Saudi Arabia’s national wealth fund serving as one of the catalysts.
The Daily Mail claimed on Wednesday that a ban on state-controlled investors acquiring clubs will also be on the agenda.
The government’s response to former sports minister Tracey Crouch’s examination of the English football administration has increased the urgency of the OADT review.
In April, the government signaled its support for an independent governing body for the sport, although crucial elements, including whether the FA has supervision of a new entity, have still to be resolved.
Any adjustments to the Premier League’s ownership test would require the approval of at least 14 teams, and club officials accept that any rules imposed by a new regulator might override revisions.
