Birmingham City have confirmed the details of a takeover deal led by US businessman Tom Wagner after years of unsporting ownership at the club.
Prior to the Blues' final game of the Championship season against Sheffield United, the club confirmed that the current owners, Birmingham Sports Holdings Ltd (BSHL), will transfer 24% of the shares in the football club to Shelby Companies Limited.
Oriental Rainbow Investments Limited and Achiever Global Group Limited will also transfer 21.64% of the shares in the club, while 100% of the shares in Birmingham City Stadium Limited will be transferred to Shelby Companies Limited.
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Shelby Companies Limited is managed by American hedge fund manager Tom Wagner. The company is a subsidiary of Knighthead Annuity & Life Assurance Company, with Wagner managing around €9billion (£7.1billion) of assets.
The club statement also confirms that BSHL had entered a period of exclusivity in order to finalise a sale, news that will be music to the ears of the thousands Birmingham City supporters after years of protests against BSHL.
The news from Birmingham could play a big part in the future of one of Arsenal's players. USMNT star Auston Trusty has spent the entire 2022/23 season on loan with Birmingham, appearing 47 times in total, and was named the club's Player of the Season in last weeks Awards night.
His output in England's second division has resulted in him being called-up to the United States national team for March's international break. Trusty was handed his senior debut by Anthony Hudson in the CONCACAF Nations League win over Grenada.
With the Gunners returning to the Champions League and expecting to compete at the top of the domestic pyramid once again next season, it's likely Trusty will be sold on to allow him to seek regular minutes. Birmingham boss John Eustace has already gone on record to state his intention of keeping the defender and the change of ownership could grant his wish.
"What a fantastic pro, a fantastic player, he has been a great servant for us this season," Eustace said two months ago. "As I said last week on the Friday he turned up and said 'I am ready to play'. A fantastic attitude and his performance was brilliant as well. We are very fortunate to have good professionals here at the football club and Auston is certainly one of them.
"He is very robust, he is an athlete, very fit, a top professional, he has come over from the States and he is just living football. He has got no distractions. He goes home, watches football, comes back, plays football, eats the right stuff. He is a true professional and I think him coming back in the team last week – what a difference it made.
"I would love to keep him. I am sure there is a chance, definitely – but it’s out of my control. All I can say is I would love to keep him at the football club and I think all the fans would love to see him stay at the football club as well. When we want to build those are the kind of characters we want here so he would be top of my list."
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