India-born businessman Ahsan Ali Syed buys La Liga football club Racing Santander
22 Jan 2011
India-born businessman Ahsan Ali Syed has completed the acquisition of La Liga football club Racing Santander, his office said on Friday.
Syed now becomes the second Indian to own a premier-division European football club after Indian poultry giant Venkateshwara Hatcheries acquired English Premier League (EPL) football club Blackburn Rovers, in October last year.
Racing Santander is currently placed 14th among the 20 clubs in Spain's La Liga, the release said.
Earlier reports had announced that Syed had plans to buy the indebted club for 30-40 million euros (Rs184-246 crore).
"The transaction has been officially approved by both the regional government of Cantabria and the national government sports council, after an intense due diligence process that analysed and approved Syed's strong financial capabilities to take the club forward," the statement said.
Based in Bahrain, Ahsan Ali Syed is the founder and President of Western Gulf Advisory (WGA). He founded WGA in 2008, following in the footsteps of his family who have over 150 years of history in private sector lending across Asia.
