BLACKBURN Rovers are in takeover talks with Indian company Venky’s and hope to complete a sale next month, the English Premier League side confirmed yesterday.
Blackburn chairman John Williams said in a statement on the club’s website that a series of meetings between officials from Rovers and Venky’s had already taken place as well as an “extensive” due diligence process.
“Both parties are hopeful that the transaction will be completed in November,” Williams confirmed.
Venky’s chairperson Anuradha Desai said in the statement the company was looking forward to becoming the first Indian owners of a Premier League team.
“We expect to be the first Indian company to acquire a Premier League team and we are particularly delighted that the team is Blackburn Rovers, with whom we believe we have many shared values and ambitions,” Desai said.
Asia’s largest poultry group, Venky’s is part of the $290m (£183.58m) worth Venkateshwara Hatcheries (VH) group, which has diversified from poultry products to pet foods, nutrition for humans and healthcare products.
Headquartered in Pune, it produces chicken nuggets, chicken meatballs, kebabs and Vienna sausages
The company is one of a number of firms which have gone through the process of due diligence and inspected Blackburn’s accounts.
The Jack Walker Trust put Rovers up for sale two years ago in the hope of attracting buyers willing to invest in the club, but Venky’s is the first company to have satisfied club chiefs about their intentions.
Established in 1875, Blackburn were one of the founding members of the Football League.
