Reading FC takeover being brought to High Court to try and force Dai Yongge sale
Prospective buyer Rob Couhig is ‘baffled’ at how a deal has not yet gone through and will use the courts to try and force the unpopular Yongge into selling the club
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Prospective Reading FC buyer Rob Couhig is set to take a claim to the High Court to try and force owner Dai Yongge into a previously agreed sale, having been left “baffled” by how the deal has not gone through.
US investor Couhig, who previously owned Wycombe Wanderers, had been scheduled to complete what is understood to have been a £30m takeover last month.
The sale, according to sources, was “90 per cent completed” with everything tied up bar Yongge’s signature. Despite all of the necessary paperwork being drafted and circulated by the seller’s lawyers, including to the seller’s minority partners, Couhig was abruptly notified by email that loans he had supplied the club on the basis of buying the club had been repaid.
“I was amazed and taken aback,” Couhig told The Independent. “I am baffled.”
Yongge has been under huge pressure to sell by infuriated supporters, after what has been a generally disastrous period at the club. There is a strong belief within the game that the club will almost certainly go into administration.
Sources state Couhig is nevertheless pressing ahead with a claim in the High Court, to attempt to force through the sale at the previously agreed terms. The buyer's side have only encountered repeated frustration since the collapse of the initial deal, only to receive no response from the club.
Reading FC declined to comment on the matter when approached by The Independent.
If Couhig can’t force through the sale, he will seek to be paid for lost profits, but that is only an alternative option way down his list of priorities.
The ambition is to buy the club, given the conviction that Reading has huge potential. Couhig has already had himself pictured in club clothing around the town.
The frustration is all the more acute since the initial attempt saw him put through a plan for the club going forward, that Reading were participants in.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments