Southampton set for £100 million takeover by Serbian billionaire Dragan Solak

Southampton are set to be bought by Serbian billionaire Dragan Solak, putting an end to current owner Jisheng Gao’s four-and-a-half-year reign.

Gao, a Chinese businessman who bought the Premier League outfit in August 2017 for a reported £210 million according to The Guardian, has been keen to sell his 80% stake in the club for over a year and is set to finally part ways with the South Coast club, selling his majority stake for half the price he acquired it for.

Numerous potential suitors have attempted to purchase the club, however, it is Solak, worth a reported €1.22 billion, who will be the Saints’ new owner.

Revealed: The Premier League club Southampton FC is close to being sold to Dragan Solak, a Serbian-born businessman behind cable-TV operator United Group, according to my sources. I understand he is paying about £100m to buy the Saints from Gao Jisheng, who took control in 2017.

— Mark Kleinman (@MarkKleinmanSky) January 4, 2022

What do we know?

Solak, 41, is the businessman behind cable-TV operator United Group and, according to Sky Sports, is understood to be behind a new holding company that will examine offers for clubs in other international leagues which replicates a similar strategy headed by the owners of Manchester City.

United Group is a pay-TV, broadband and phone company that operates in the Balkans and South-East Europe and is how the Serbian made his fortunes.

However, the company Sport Republic will have a much greater impact on the deal and the club’s future than United Group.

According to The Sun, Sport Republic is fronted by former Brentford chief Rasmus Ankersen who left his role with the Bees last month. Solak has teamed up with Ankersen and his fellow Dane and London-based investor Henrik Kraft to create a different kind of empire in football.

Kraft, the co-shareholder and director in Sport Republic, is expected to become the new chairman of Southampton whilst minority shareholder Katharina Liebherr is expected to retain her 20% stake in the club and CEO Martin Semmens will continue his role.

What is next?

The Athletic’s Dan Sheldon reported this morning that manager Ralph Hasenhuttl and his players have been made aware of the deal which is complete as we await confirmation.

What can we expect?

With the January transfer window still in its first week, there will be a wave of excitement across the fanbase with hopes that the club will now go out and splash some cash with the confirmation of a new owner.

There has been no indication of Solak’s investment plans or how much money he is expected to inject into the football club, particularly over the next few weeks with the transfer window now open.

Last January, manager Ralph Hasenhuttl stated that he would sign 10 players if the money was available to do so.

As previously mentioned, there has been no indication regarding the amount of money that will be available for Hasenhuttl’s use, so it is unclear what the new owner’s plans for the current window and remainder of the season are.

Regardless, the news has brought a breath of fresh air into the fanbase with Saints fans optimistic that the reign of Dragan Solak will see the club return to similar levels to those that were achieved prior to Gao’s purchase of the club.

Realistically though, we still know very little about how this takeover will affect the short and long-term future of Southampton.

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