According to Mail Sport, it is understood that an Australian Sports Consortium is currently raising capital to buy Charlton Athletic for an estimated value of £20 million.
In recent months speculation has arisen that Charlton Athletic had been put up for sale by Charlton’s current owner, Roland Duchatelet, in an attempt to cut his losses, and retreat from English Football.
The rumours and speculation started back in January 2017, when there was noise that Red Bull had approached the club, but nothing ever came of that.
Since then more noise has been heard, and along with that speculation. The idea that Chinese or Russian money was about to takeover in Southeast London, like it has throughout England, and Europe in recent years.
However, we now understand, according to Mail Sport, that Charlton Athletic is currently in exclusivity talks with an Australian Sports Consortium known as Australian Football Consortium LTD (AFC).
They are currently in the process of raising £20m capital in order to purchase Charlton Athletic along with their training ground based in Eltham, known as ‘Sparrows Lane’. It is understood that initial due diligence has been completed by the Consortium.
In recent weeks, the club has officially continued to fire home the message that the club is not for sale. A Charlton spokesman insisted: ‘The club is not for sale and our concentration is on maintaining our League One status.’ Charlton sits 16th in League One, just five points above the relegation places.
Last month, Charlton released their financial books which showed that the club owe £55 million to Duchatelet’s parent company, Staprix NV.
I would not be surprised if this is simply a ruse to flush out more potential buyers with deeper pockets, as £20 million for Duchatelet seems off the mark!
