From Braithwaite to Alan Pace: Chen's options to sell Espanyol

BarcelonaIt will soon be ten years since Rastar Group landed at Espanyol. It has been a decade of ups and downs, marked by one European qualification, two promotions and two relegations, and It has cost Chen Yansheng more than 240 million euros., owner of the Chinese conglomerate that controls 99.6% of the shares of the blue and white club. The latest investment was made official this Friday during the extraordinary general shareholders' meeting, which approved a capital increase—Rastar's fourth—worth almost 32 million euros.

This transaction, coupled with the already budgeted sale of Joan Garcia for 25 million euros plus the CPI, "is the oxygen woman" to Espanyol, according to the financial director, Joan Fitó. He also confirmed that the entity will close the year in the black for the first time in the last five years, with a profit of two million, and that after the capital increase it has accumulated an estimated debt of 7 million, "the lowest figure in the last decade."

These numbers make the blue and white club healthy and return to the 1:1 rule of the fair play of La Liga, great news for sporting planning and a hypothetical sale to another owner. This is a possibility that has been repeatedly raised in the Perico environment, fueled in recent days by reports that Alan Pace, an American businessman who owns Burnley – recently promoted to the English Premier League – and founder of the investment fund ALK Capital, is close to buying Espanyol from Chen.

Alan Pace is not the only option

"We don't provide explanations for rumors," said Mao Ye, the club's CEO, when asked about a possible change of hands. The truth is that the club has received several approaches and, as La Grada revealed and ARA has been able to confirm, there are currently at least three strong candidates, one of them Alan Pace, who are aware of the terms of the transaction and are opting to buy Espanyol. The fact that he is one of the options doesn't mean that the American businessman is currently the favorite to become the club's new majority shareholder.

The club reiterates Chen's firm commitment to Espanyol, but also acknowledges contact with some potential buyers. Furthermore, given everything that a transaction of this magnitude entails, they understand that a hypothetical transfer would be far from immediate – "next week the club won't be sold," they say. For now, none of the candidates has deposited the 10% of the total transaction amount (to be deducted from the final payment), which could be slightly under 200 million euros. This deposit would enable a non-binding pre-agreement that would allow the buyer to carry out the relevant audits and the due diligence, a standard procedure in transactions of this type, and a crucial step for the operation because it would demonstrate the absolute willingness to purchase.

Being listed on China's Shenzhen Stock Exchange, Rastar would be required by law to issue a public statement if it began formal negotiations for the sale of an asset like Espanyol. Failure to do so would expose the company to a fine. That's why, during the meeting, Mao Ye referred to a supposed negotiation for the purchase of the club in the following terms: "If any relevant event occurs, the company will make a public announcement for everyone. No one can have privileged information."

Braithwaite's emergence

Since Rastar took over as manager of Espanyol, Dozens of investors have expressed interest in the entity, but no one has yet reached an agreement with Chen. One of them was Martin Braithwaite, who initiated contacts to be part of a hypothetical purchase of the club. With an estimated fortune of 300 million euros, the Danish player should "be accompanied by other businessmen" because "he could rarely be the one." Lead Investor", people familiar with the negotiations told ARA.

The closest thing to acquiring Espanyol was the American group MountainStar Sports, led by Paul Foster and Alejandra de la Vega, and represented by Argentine businessman Andrés Fassi. accompanied by his family around the RCDE Stadium, but disagreements with Chen ultimately thwarted the deal.