Swansea the latest Premier League club to attract US investors

The owner of Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise DC United has purchased a controlling stake in Premier League club Swansea City.

Jason Levien, managing general owner of the Washington-based team, has acquired around 60 per cent of the Welsh club in a consortium with Steve Kaplan, executive vice-chair of Memphis Grizzlies in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Former majority shareholder Huw Jenkins will remain in an executive role and will retain an ownership stake in the club. The 21 per cent ownership stake held by the Supporters’ Trust remains unaltered.

A statement made by the club said the deal represented an “exciting opportunity for long-term growth in the club in every area”.

“There is a huge level of respect for and a huge desire to build on the outstanding work of Huw Jenkins and his fellow board members who, alongside the Supporters’ Trust, rescued the Swans and transformed them into a highly-respected Premier League club,” it added.

The deal now needs to be sanctioned by the Premier League. If, as expected, it gets the green light, the American pair will be the latest US businessmen to take control of Premier League clubs.

Arsenal (Stan Kroenke), Aston Villa (Randy Lerner), Liverpool (John W Henry), Manchester United (the Glazer family) and Sunderland (Ellis Short) are all owned by US businessmen.

Earlier this year, Crystal Palace won investment from David Blitzer and Josh Harris, who own the National Hockey League’s (NHL) New Jersey Devil and the National Basketball Association (NBA) franchise Philadelphia 76ers.