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Southampton takeover: Serbian-born businessman Dragan Solak buys club in £100m deal

​​​​​​​Dragan Solak, the businessman behind cable-TV operator United Group, has struck a deal to buy the Premier League club from Gao Jisheng, who took control in 2017

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Image: Sky News has learnt that Dragan Solak, founder of United Group, has invested a chunk of his fortune in a controlling stake in the Saints

A Serbian-born cable television tycoon has become the latest entrant to the Premier League's eclectic roster of club-owners after striking a £100m deal to buy Southampton.

Sky News has learnt that Dragan Solak, founder of United Group, has invested a chunk of his fortune in a controlling stake in the Saints, who sit 14th in the table, 10 points clear of the relegation zone.

Mr Solak is understood to be behind a new holding company which will examine offers for clubs in other international leagues, replicating a strategy employed by the owners of Manchester City.

Rasmus Ankersen, the former Brentford co-director of football, and Henrik Kraft, a London-based investor, are also involved in the Southampton takeover.

The deal will bring an end to the majority ownership of Gao Jisheng, a Chinese businessman who bought an 80 per cent stake in the club in 2017.

Southampton have been seeking a new owner for months.

It is the first deal to have been approved by the Premier League since a government-commissioned report by the former sports minister, Tracey Crouch, called for more rigorous scrutiny of club takeovers.

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Her inquiry was initiated after the furious reaction to six English clubs' decision to join a European Super League early last year.

It acquired additional impetus after the Premier League approved the takeover of Newcastle by a consortium led by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund.

The Magpies' acquisition by one of the world's wealthiest investors infuriated a number of Premier League clubs, triggering the resignation of the league's chairman, Gary Hoffman.

Southampton did not respond to repeated attempts to contact it on Monday night and Tuesday morning.

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