Historic SPFL club ‘eyed for seven-figure sum takeover by US investors’

ANOTHER Scottish football club is attracting interest from US investors, according to a report.

In the last year, St Johnstone have been taken over by American lawyer Adam Webb and Bournemouth‘s Texan-born owner Bill Foley has acquired a minority stake in Hibs.

Before that, both Dundee and Dundee United welcomed in new owners from the USA.

Dunfermline Athletic could now be set to join them with talks between the club an a US-based consortium over a deal for a controlling stake now at an advanced stage, reports the Daily Record.

The Pars current majority stakeholders, DAFC Fussball GmbH, announced in August that they were looking to sell up their shares.

And they revealed last month that discussions with potential investors were encouraging.

Now it’s emerged that an American firm is at the front of the queue, following several expressions of interest in the Fife club.

It’s being reported that they are ready to make a seven-figure purchase of the Scottish Championship outfit and an agreement is on the brink of being reached.

However, ownership of the club’s stadium, East End Park, would NOT be included.

That’s because it belongs to a separate group, East End Park Limited.

As with any takeover deal, any prospective buyer would need to satisfy the SFA’s fit and proper person test.

Dunfermline struggled in the Championship last year and are second from bottom this season too.

The current German-based ownership group said when they put the club up for sale that they felt their long-term outlook wasn’t being matched by the supporters, who simply wanted someone with “deep pockets” to throw money around.

They said: “We have felt for a while now that long term planning and putting in place the building blocks for future success is not what many are looking for. 

“Many seem to prefer an investor who has deep pockets to throw at the first team and try for the best over and over again each season.

“We said from the start that we are not this kind of investor and therefore have detected an increasing disappointment in our approach. 

“Perhaps, therefore, we are not the right kind of investor in the eyes of many at the club.

“Rushing things, or simply spending more money is not a sustainable model and we have not stood for this from the start.  

“The speed with which last year’s heroes become this year’s discards, last year’s cleverness becomes this year’s inability is difficult for us to understand and, for us, makes our strategy of longer-term planning and building nearly impossible.” 

Dunfermline have twice won the Scottish Cup in their history, in 1961 and 1968.

The Pars were beaten finalists on three other occasions, in 1950, 1992 and 2006.

In the sixties they were regular competitors in Europe, reaching the semi-finals of the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1968-69.

They have also been crowned champions of the second tier four times, most recently in 2011.

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