American investment group in advanced talks over Burnley takeover
An American sports investment company is in advanced talks with Burnley about a takeover of the Turf Moor club.
ALK Capital is close to striking a deal to take majority control of the Premier League club.
The company is headed by Alan Pace, a former president of Major League Soccer franchise Real Salt Lake who has previously tried to buy Sheffield United.
Mike Garlick, the Burnley chairman, is the club’s majority shareholder with a 49.24 per cent stake and John Banaszkiewicz has a 28.2 per cent shareholding.
It remains to be seen if ALK Capital secures Garlick and Banaszkiewicz’s entire shareholding but Burnley’s prospective new owners want to take a hands-on role in the way the club is run.
Pace was managing director of now defunct US bank Lehman Brothers for 12 years until 2006 and later joined Citigroup, where he worked in various senior roles, most recently as global head of securities services sales.
He set up ALK Capital with US businessman Dave Checketts in October last year, around the time they were interested in buying Sheffield United.
Checketts was owner of Real Salt Lake and president of the NBA basketball franchises Utah Jazz and New York Knicks.
He is understood to be working as an advisor on ALK Capital’s bid to buy Burnley.
According to its website, ALK Capital describes itself as specialising in the “acquisition and operations of modern sports, media and entertainment assets, and related technologies.”
A spokesperson for ALK Capital said: “ALK Capital is aware of media speculation linking it with a potential investment in a Premier League football club. ALK Capital is unable to provide any comment at this time.” Burnley have declined to comment.
Telegraph Sport reported last week that an American consortium was in talks about buying Burnley at a time of growing friction between Garlick and manager Sean Dyche.
Dyche has spoken of his frustration at Burnley’s struggles to strengthen their squad before the close of the transfer window on Monday week and the failure to agree new contracts for players.
It remains to be seen if ALK is able to complete a takeover before the transfer window closes but the uncertainty over the future of the club is understood to have been an added complication regarding recruitment in recent months.
Burnley are on the verge of completing a £1 million deal for Brighton midfielder Dale Stephens and are weighing up a bid for Liverpool and Wales forward Harry Wilson, who spent last season on loan at Bournemouth.
Wilson, 23, is among the forwards Dyche has a strong interest in but there are numerous hoops still to jump through and a deal was still a way off happening as of Wednesday afternoon.
