Northampton Town have confirmed that they have reached agreement with a consortium including former AC Milan, Chelsea and Brazil forward Alexandre Pato over a proposed shareholding acquisition in the League Two club.
The group, Sports Alpha Capital (SAC), had its proposed deal with the Cobblers approved by the Independent Football Regulator (IFR) and the English Football League (EFL) earlier this month. Northampton said they expected to be “in a position to confirm completion of the process” next week.
Northampton chairman Kelvin Thomas said: “Football club transactions always have many moving parts and often take a little longer than you would hope, but we are thrilled to be moving forward.” SAC founding partner Joao Xavier added: “We are very happy to have reached formal agreements. Obviously obtaining IFR and EFL approvals was a big step, but this is also a very important milestone, and we look forward to closing next week.”
SAC had been in discussions about taking over Colchester United earlier this year but decided to pull out of a potential deal following initial talks. Pato is named by SAC as one of its investors, alongside Gemcorp Capital, a London-based independent investment management firm. The size of SAC’s proposed shareholding in Northampton has not been disclosed.
Pato, 37, retired from playing last year. He is best known for a five-and-a-half-year spell at AC Milan, where he scored 63 goals in 150 matches and won the Serie A title in the 2010-11 season.
The agreement follows a difficult period for Northampton. The club suffered relegation to the fourth tier last season, finishing bottom of League One, and are currently 17th in League Two after winning for the first time this season at home to Newport on 5 September. In April, Northampton announced a pre-tax loss just short of £3m, and Thomas has previously said the proposed investment would make the club debt-free.
Northampton appointed Chris Hogg as manager in May and brought in 13 players during the summer transfer window, including striker Matty Warhurst from Manchester City.