Exeter Chiefs move to slash red tape over takeover bid

Exeter Chiefs have moved to slash the red tape surrounding their takeover by Bill Foley’s Black Knight Sports and Entertainment empire, after this morning applying to Companies House to de-register as a PLC and re-register as a private company.

The Chiefs’ 700 Members and shareholders voted almost two weeks ago in favour of a bid by Foley’s co-investment vehicle Cannae Holdings, and it is understood that the takeover deal should be signed by mid-June.

Black Knight, which owns Premier League outfit AFC Bournemouth, is currently conducting due diligence, and when that is completed, the American investors will purchase all shares in the Devon club.

Cannae Holdings’ Chief Executive Officer, Ryan Caswell, was pictured alongside Chiefs’ chief executive Tony Rowe when he attended the Chiefs’ 28-35 Gallagher PREM defeat against Northampton Saints at Sandy Park a month ago.

The change from a PLC to a private company is a move to slash red tape, as they do not have to follow the PLC code, the City Code, or the Blue Book on Takeovers and Mergers, which sets out statutory rules and general principles for takeovers.

The City Code is seen as onerous, and this move will smooth out the takeover, with a Certificate of re-registration to be issued by Companies House in ten days.

When it is completed, the takeover will be the latest investment in the English game, which began when Newcastle were bought by Austrian energy drink giant Red Bull in August.

Billionaire industrialist Sir James Dyson became co-owner of PREM champions Bath in March, and Steve Zander, Head of Europe, Co-Chief Investment Officer, and a Partner at Cross Ocean Partners, joined Northampton Saints’ shareholder group as a minority stakeholder.

Meanwhile, Pittsburgh-based Stonewood Capital principals Kenn Moritz and John Tippins became the first Americans to invest in an English club when they took a stake in the Champ side Cornish Pirates.