Post by QPR Report on Dec 20, 2008 8:41:45 GMT
[Slightly Edited!]
TWO YEARS AGO!
December 20, 2007
- The news of the Mittal announcement was announced two year ago today: It was definitely a time of giddy optimism as one of the world's richest people was investing in QPR!
- Of course this was before the World financial crash. But two year later: QPR still have the "moniker" of "World's Richest" and "Money bags" QPR although not at all clear such a title has actually been earned! (Or at what cost, if any, to QPR's "soul"!)
- Certainly Amit Bhatia is the current messageboard "hero" as Briatore has sunk a little in some posters' opinions.
Flashback Two Years: December 20, 2007
QPR Official Site - CLUB STATEMENT
QPR Announcement: The Mittal Family is Investing in QPR and Joining QPR's Board- Queens Park Rangers Football Club is delighted to announce today (Thursday 20th December 2007) that the Mittal Family has taken a 20 per-cent shareholding in QPR Holdings Limited.
- Alongside Mr Bernie Ecclestone, Mr Flavio Briatore and Sarita Capital, the Mittal Family will now be a significant shareholder in the Club.
- As part of the agreement, the Mittal Family have appointed Mr Amit Bhatia as a Director to the board of the Club.
- Speaking on behalf of Queens Park Rangers Football Club, the Board of Directors, said: "This investment in QPR by the Mittal Family is a great stepping-stone towards the future development of the Club and supports the ambition of the current shareholders to reach the Premier League in the near future.
"The new capital being invested in QPR will help fund the programme that is needed to help us achieve this target."
On behalf of the Mittal Family, Mr Bhatia, who is Mr Lakshmi Mittal's son-in-law, said: "The Family is excited about becoming involved with Queens Park Rangers Football Club.
"As a family, we love sport and particularly enjoy English football, and alongside Bernie and Flavio, we hope that we can improve the Club's performance, with the ultimate ambition of a place in the Premier League."
*The Club will be making no further comment at this stage.
PRESS COVERAGE OF THE MITTAL INVESTMENT/b]
AP - Britain's richest man invests in Queens Park Rangers soccer club
LONDON (AP) -The family of the richest man in Britain, steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, has bought a 20 percent stake in League Championship soccer club Queens Park Rangers.
The club, which was taken over by Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone and Renault team boss Flavio Briatore in November, did not disclose the sum paid for the stake.
Mittal will be represented on the club's board by his son-in-law Amit Bhatia.
"This investment in QPR by the Mittal family is a great stepping stone towards the future development of the club and supports the ambition of the current shareholders to reach the Premier League in the near future,'' the club said in a statement. "The new capital being invested in QPR will help fund the program that is needed to help us achieve this target.''
Italian coach Luigi De Canio was appointed in October but the club is currently last in the 24-club league, which is one tier below the Premier League. Despite that, Bhatia said the family was excited about the club's prospects.
"As a family, we love sport and particularly enjoy English football, and alongside Bernie and Flavio, we hope that we can improve the club's performance, with the ultimate ambition of a place in the Premier League,'' Bhatia said.
Mittal was ranked the fifth-richest man in the world this year by Forbes magazine, which estimated his worth at US$32 billion (?22.3 billion) in August.
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich was ranked 16th on the Forbes List. Chelsea is located just 5.6 kilometers (3.5 miles) from Queens Park Rangers in West London.
In 2004, Mittal bought a residence from Ecclestone in Kensington, London, for 70 million pounds. CNN/Sports Illustrated
MAIL - Billionaire Mittal buys £1.6m stake in Rangers
Lakshmi Mittal, an Indian steel magnate worth a reported £26billion, has joined Formula One supremos Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore as an investor in the Championship club.
QPR chose not to make public the amount Mittal has paid for his shareholding but it is believed to have cost him around £1.6million. Mittal will be represented on the club's board by his son-in-law, Amit Bhatia.
A club spokesman said: "This investment is a great stepping stone towards the future development of the club."
Mittal, 57, is a friend of Ecclestone after buying his £70million house in Kensington.
Bhatia added: "Our ultimate ambition is a place in the Premier League." Mail
Sporting Life/PA Sport - Andy Sims QPR BOOSTED BY MITTAL CASH INJECTION
QPR have received a major cash injection after the family of the world's fifth richest man, Lakshmi Mittal, bought up a 20% shareholding of the Coca-Cola Championship club.
Mittal, an Indian steel magnate who is worth a reported £50billion, will be represented on the club's board alongside Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore by his son-in-law, Amit Bhatia.
In a statement, the QPR board said: "This investment in QPR by the Mittal family is a great stepping stone towards the future development of the club and supports the ambition of the current shareholders to reach the Premier League in the near future.
"The new capital being invested in QPR will help fund the programme that is needed to help us achieve this target."
Formula One chief Ecclestone and Renault team boss Briatore took over at Loftus Road in November and had already pledged hefty transfer funds for manager Luigi De Canio.
Rangers are currently bottom of the Championship, but they could now potentially rival west London neighbours Chelsea in the transfer market should Mittal dip into his vast fortune.
Bhatia added: "The family is excited about becoming involved with Queens Park Rangers Football Club.
"As a family, we love sport and particularly enjoy English football, and alongside Bernie and Flavio, we hope that we can improve the club's performance, with the ultimate ambition of a place in the Premier League." Sporting Life
BBC - QPR secure huge investment boost
QPR have been given a cash boost after the family of the world's fifth richest man bought a 20% stake in the club.
The son-in-law of Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, who is worth a reported £50bn, will join Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore on the club's board.
"This investment is a great stepping stone towards the future development of the club," said a club statement.
"It supports the ambition of the current shareholders to reach the Premier League in the near future."
QPR are currently bottom of the Championship, but they could now potentially near neighbours and FA Cup third round opponents Chelsea in the transfer market, should Mittal wish to spend his cash.
"The family is excited about becoming involved with QPR," said Mittal's son-in-law, Amit Bhatia.
"As a family, we love sport and particularly enjoy English football, and alongside Bernie and Flavio, we hope that we can improve the club's performance, with the ultimate ambition of a place in the Premier League." BBC
SKYSPORT - Major cash boost for QPR
Mittal family joins Championship club's board - Sky <a href="http://qprreport.blogspot.com/2007/12/lakshmi-mittals-qpr-involvement-hits.html">QPR Report</a>
QPR Overtake Chelsea - QPR's New Owners: Various Reports-
The TIMES -The Insider - December 21Kevin Eason - QPR outdo the neighbours
Chelsea are no longer the richest club in West London. In fact, the rest of the Barclays Premier League combined would struggle to match the wealth that swung behind Queens Park Rangers yesterday. Lakshmi Mittal, Britain’s richest man, took a 20 per cent stake in the Coca-Cola Championship strugglers to line up with Bernie Ecclestone, his old friend, who bought the club this year with Flavio Briatore.
The combined wealth of Mittal and Ecclestone is a staggering £21.4 billion, according to the Sunday Times Rich List – more than double the fortune Roman Abramovich can call on to fund Chelsea. And even a trip to the ramshackle directors’ box at Loftus Road last weekend did not put off Mittal, the Indian steel magnate.
Nobody is entirely sure how much influence Mittal will exert for his 20 per cent but the signs are not good; he has appointed Amit Bhatia, his son-in-law, to take his place on the board, while Ecclestone, too, has his hands full running Formula One. Briatore is not exactly short of things to do either, running the Renault Formula One team plus his aptly-named Billionaire clothing and nightclub empire. There may be loadsamoney, but who is in charge? The Times
Mirror - Lo£tus Road - Why are some of the world's richest men buying into QPR? By Neil Mcleman 21/12/2007
Britain's richest man yesterday bought a 20 per cent stake in Queens Park Rangers, the worstside in the Championship.
Lakshmi Mittal, the Indian-born steel magnate who is worth £25bn, has invested an undisclosed sum in the club taken over last month by Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore. Mittal was ranked the fifth-richest man in the world this year ahead of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich in 16th place.
Qpr plan to use the 57-year-old's money to get into the top flight and challenge their west London neighbours. The two clubs meet in the FA Cup third round next month and Mittal, who has lived in London since 1995, will be represented on the Loftus Road board by his son-in-law, Amit Bhatia.
"As a family, we love sport and particularly enjoy English football," said Bhatia.
"Alongside Bernie and Flavio, we hope we can improve the club's performance, with the ultimate ambition of a place in the Premier League."
In 2004, Mittal bought a house in Kensington from Ecclestone for £70million - still the record price paid for a private residence in the UK.
New Italian manager Luigi De Canio has already been promised a large budget to invest during the January transfer window.
Qpr fan chief Paul Finney said: "Santa must be wearing blue and white hoops at the moment." Mirror
The INDEPENDENT -QPR welcomes the billionaire effect as Mittal strikes a deal By Danny Fortson, Business Correspondent
Money may not buy happiness, but it can buy a championship-winning football team, a truism lavishly proven by Roman Abram-ovich at Chelsea.
The board of Queen's Park Rangers was yesterday hoping that the arrival of a new billionaire owner in the form of Lakshmi Mittal, head of the world's largest steel company and the richest man in the UK, would herald a similar change of fortunes for the long-suffering club.
The West London club revealed yesterday that the steel baron paid an undisclosed sum for a 20 per cent stake, becoming the latest fabulously wealthy businessman to add an English football club to his trophy case. QPR, currently bottom of the Championship, welcomed the arrival of Mr Mittal, who has an estimated net worth of £20bn. "This investment ...is a great step towards the development of the club and supports the ambition of the shareholders to reach the Premier League in the near future."
Mr Mittal joins the club's other high-profile owners, Bernie Ecclestone, head of Formula One, and Flavio Briatore, the Renault team manager, who took over the club in September. Mr Mittal will be represented on the board by his son-in-law Amit Bhatia.
QPR declined to comment on spending plans beyond a statement saying: "The new capital being invested in QPR will help fund the programme that is needed to help us to achieve this target."
If recent history is a guide, QPR, which last played in the Premier League in 1996, is probably on the cusp of a liberally bankrolled make-over. It needs it. The club descended into farce last year when details emerged of a boardroom confrontation in which former director Gianni Baldini said he was held at gunpoint to force him to resign and sell his shares.
Mr Mittal's dip into the football world is the latest in a string of such deals. Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister of Thailand, bought Manchester City last summer and immediately splashed out tens of millions of pounds to hire former England coach Sven Goran Eriksson and a raft of pricey foreign players.
The Independent
The Guardian - Matt Scott/The Digger -
"...Mittal feathers the nest
A delegation of Queens Park Rangers fans' groups was received by the club's new board last week but there was no indication then that the billionaires' nest at Loftus Road would soon be joined by another. Rumours began to circulate that Lakshmi Mittal, left, had an interest when he was pictured sitting next to Bernie Ecclestone during the Wolverhampton Wanderers game on Saturday. Mittal's arrival was confirmed yesterday when he took a 20% stake and his son-in-law, Amit Bhatia, took a place on the board. But there is still no convincing word on what has drawn a crowd of Croesuses to the Championship's bottom team." The Guardian
qprreport.blogspot.com/2007/12/qpr-overtake-chelsea-and-other-stories.htm
The Sun - QPR are richest club in the world - By PAUL JIGGINS
CHELSEA fans will be choking on their cappuccinos today when they discover they are no longer the country’s richest club.
In fact, they are not even the wealthiest in West London any more.
That honour now goes to unfashionable neighbours Queens Park Rangers after Lakshmi Mittal — the fifth most minted man on the planet — bought a 20 per cent stakeholding.
And with the Rangers board already boasting F1 tycoons Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, it means the Championship’s bottom club have a fortune of more than £22BILLION — even bigger than Real Madrid.
Indian steel magnate Mittal topped last year’s Sunday Times Rich List with a near £20bn fortune — almost double that of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich.
F1 supremo Ecclestone is worth £2.5bn, while Renault chief Briatore has a cool £60m.
Chequebook
The three wealthy directors have pledged to splash the cash to turn Rangers into the game’s next big force.
And boss Luigi de Canio will be given an open chequebook to strengthen his squad during next month’s transfer window.
Mittal will be represented on the board by son-in-law Amit Bhatia.
He said: “The family is excited about becoming involved with QPR. As a family, we love sport and particularly enjoy English football.
“Alongside Bernie and Flavio, we hope we can improve the club’s performance, with the ultimate ambition of a Premier League place.”
Rangers were on the brink of going back into administration before Ecclestone and Briatore bought the club for £14m in September.
Paul Finney, of the Independent R’s supporters group, said: “Santa must be wearing blue and white hoops.
“It’s been a crazy season and now it looks set to be even more surreal.” The Sun
The Telegraph - Lakshmi Mittal pushes QPR up the rich list
By Kevin Garside
Roman's is no longer the pre-eminent pocket in west London. In one cursory flourish of his platinum card, the world's fifth richest man, who is worth £26 billion, has restructured the pecking order in Kensington and Chelsea. Ronaldinho is practically a Queens Park Rangers player. You never know, David Beckham might be supplying the crosses. He'd look good in hoops.
Fantasy is part of the infrastructure at Queen's Park Rangers. Ordinarily it extends no further than the absent fans, the thousands who proclaim allegiance, who convince themselves that they are supporters but so rarely trouble the turnstiles. Now Lakshmi Mittal is on board, to the tune of a 20 per cent holding, the missing Rangers hordes will be knocking down the doors before you can say Jose Mourinho for manager.
Money men: Lakshmi Mittal has joined forces with Bernie Ecclestone at Loftus Road
In 1974, a record 35,353 turned up to watch Don Revie's Leeds. The capacity now, albeit all-seated, is a more modest 19,100, a figure unlikely to be challenged by the visit of Colchester tomorrow. Make the most of the modest fare; the club is not planning to wither much longer in the nether regions of the game.
Just two months ago the catalyst among the Loftus Road magnates, Formula One's Bernie Ecclestone, sat in the Fuji paddock eulogising Rangers. Earlier that day Mount Fuji emerged from behind the clouds that had cloaked its wondrous peak. One wondered whether Bernie had the right Rangers, whether his state had not been altered by the mind-bending properties associated with Japan's magical mountain.
He spoke of a commitment to revisit the days of Thomas and Francis, of Marsh and Bowles, of a desire to parade Rangers in Europe, to dip the old place in stardust and give Loftus Road a facelift. The unveiling yesterday of Mittal as a partner in this preternatural project added weight to the fancy.
"Mittal is a mate of mine as you know," Ecclestone said. "I told him he should come on board; he took my advice. We want this to work. This is a great old club - they haven't always been where they are today. They were challenging Liverpool for the league title back in the Seventies. That is where we want to see them again, in the top flight.
advertisement"What surprises me is the number of people who are supporters that you never dreamt would be. I speak to people and they tell me they have been supporting QPR all their lives. We'll tidy the whole place up now and see what we can come up with. There will be investment in the club to make it the best it can be. There is a proper board in place and they will decide what the spend will be."
Having spent £30 million sending his daughter down the aisle, Mittal is unlikely to be counting the pennies. When asked if Mittal's involvement was a statement of intent, Ecclestone, hardly thrifty himself, replied: "Absolutely."
Seventeen years ago, a former sheet metal worker from Blackburn sold his company to British Steel for £360 million. Twelve months later, fans of Blackburn Rovers thought they must have died and gone to football heaven. Jack Walker was the new chairman and splashing millions on new stands and Alan Shearer. The result, in 1995, was a first championship since 1914.
Under Kenny Dalglish, Blackburn bloodied the noses of the football aristocracy. Under Mourinho, propelled by Roman's rubles, Chelsea added a second and third title 40 years after claiming their first. The mind boggles at the potential inherent in the bank balances of Messrs Mittal, Ecclestone and [Flavio] Briatore.
January offers the first opportunity to measure intent. This improbable triumvirate could blow the transfer window off its Roman-plated hinges. The teams immediately above QPR in the Championship table are all a whiter shade of pale this morning.
Briatore is the man pulling the strings. This is the same former ski instructor who made niche Italian knitwear sell like hot cakes. He then made Benetton winners in grand prix racing, introducing a chap called Michael Schumacher to the global stage. Ten years later he repeated the feat at Renault, making Fernando Alonso a double world champion.
Blackburn were decaying in the old Second Division when Walker blew into Ewood Park. Within a year they were founder members of the Premiership. Dizzying progress is the minimum requirement at QPR. This quaint, harmless club is about to be fast-tracked into the big league. If manager Luigi de Canio cannot fashion it, Briatore will find another who can. And don't be surprised were he to speak Portuguese.
www.telegraph.co.uk/garside
Loftus Road magnates
Lakshmi Mittal
Born: Sadulpur, India.
Age: 57.
Reputed to be the fifth-richest man in the world, Mittal owns 44 per cent of ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steel company. He began his career by working in his family's steel business, but in 1994 he branched out to take over the company's international operations, eventually becoming president of the board of directors.
Worth £26 billion
Bernie Ecclestone
Born: Bungay, Suffolk. Age: 77
Ecclestone, the 'ringmaster' for F1 motor racing, he made his mark by buying the Brabham team in 1972. Became chief executive of the F1 Constructors Association in 1978 and pioneered the sale of TV rights for the sport. Was at the centre of a controversy in 1997 when he gave the Labour Party a £1m donation.
Worth £2.25 billion
Flavio Briatore
Born: Cuneo, Italy. Age: 57.
Managing director of the Renault F1 team. Made his fortune after going into business with clothing company founder Luciano Benetton. Became managing director of the Benetton F1 team and then took on a similar role when it became Benetton-Renault, and then simply Renault.
Worth £50 Million
Telegraph QPR welcomes the billionaire effect as Mittal strikes a deal - By Danny Fortson, Business Correspondent
Published: 21 December 2007
Money may not buy happiness, but it can buy a championship-winning football team, a truism lavishly proven by Roman Abram-ovich at Chelsea.
The board of Queen's Park Rangers was yesterday hoping that the arrival of a new billionaire owner in the form of Lakshmi Mittal, head of the world's largest steel company and the richest man in the UK, would herald a similar change of fortunes for the long-suffering club.
The West London club revealed yesterday that the steel baron paid an undisclosed sum for a 20 per cent stake, becoming the latest fabulously wealthy businessman to add an English football club to his trophy case. QPR, currently bottom of the Championship, welcomed the arrival of Mr Mittal, who has an estimated net worth of £20bn. "This investment ...is a great step towards the development of the club and supports the ambition of the shareholders to reach the Premier League in the near future."
Mr Mittal joins the club's other high-profile owners, Bernie Ecclestone, head of Formula One, and Flavio Briatore, the Renault team manager, who took over the club in September. Mr Mittal will be represented on the board by his son-in-law Amit Bhatia.
QPR declined to comment on spending plans beyond a statement saying: "The new capital being invested in QPR will help fund the programme that is needed to help us to achieve this target."
If recent history is a guide, QPR, which last played in the Premier League in 1996, is probably on the cusp of a liberally bankrolled make-over. It needs it. The club descended into farce last year when details emerged of a boardroom confrontation in which former director Gianni Baldini said he was held at gunpoint to force him to resign and sell his shares.
Mr Mittal's dip into the football world is the latest in a string of such deals. Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister of Thailand, bought Manchester City last summer and immediately splashed out tens of millions of pounds to hire former England coach Sven Goran Eriksson and a raft of pricey foreign players. ttp://qprreport.blogspot.com/2007/12/qpr-are-richest-club-in-world-and-other.html
Newspaper Stories Before The Official QPR Announcement
DAILY TELEGRAPH - QPR seek slice of Lakshmi Mittal's £26bn - By Tom Collomosse
Queens Park Rangers hope to persuade Lakshmi Mittal, the world's fifth-richest man, to invest some of his estimated £26 billion fortune in the club.
The Indian steel magnate was a guest of Rangers co-owners Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore for the 0-0 draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Loftus Road last Saturday which left QPR bottom of the Championship.
Mittal, 57, is a friend of Ecclestone after buying the Formula One rights holder's £70 million house in Kensington.
A Rangers source said: "The club heard Mittal had been interested in Wigan and Everton, but this is a lot closer to home. He already knew Bernie from the time when he bought his house. The real worry is what clubs are going to want for players when Rangers try to buy them."
Ecclestone is thought to be worth about £2.5 billion, while multi-millionaire Briatore is the managing director of the Renault F1 team and has diverse business interests including fashion, nightclubs and pharmaceuticals.
Were Mittal to be brought on board, Rangers' spending power would dwarf even that of their west London rivals Chelsea, who are bankrolled by Roman Abramovich's £9.5 billion fortune.
Mittal's Kensington Gardens home is known as the 'Taj Mittal' as it is decorated with the marble taken from the same quarry that supplied the Taj Mahal mausoleum in Agra, India. In June 2004, Mittal paid more than £30 million to host his daughter Vanisha's wedding.
Even if Mittal, who has been linked with Birmingham City, as well as Wigan Athletic and Everton, were not to get involved, QPR's financial future appears secure, but it is the present which causes most concern.
Since appointing Italian Luigi de Canio to succeed John Gregory as manager in October, Rangers have shown little improvement.
De Canio is expected to invest heavily in new players during next month's transfer window, and he will be expected to lead a rapid upturn in Rangers' results, as Ecclestone and Briatore are not accustomed to presiding over failing institutions.
The pair took control of Rangers on Nov 7, since when they have attended the majority of home games. Briatore is frequently at the club's Harlington training base near Heathrow Airport and holds regular discussions with his compatriot, De Canio. Telegraph
This is London - Fifth-richest man in the world set to buy into Queens Park Rangers
Mittal: Latest big name linked with Rangers
Multi-billionaire Lakshmi Mittal — the world's fifth-richest man — is to become a director of QPR.
The London-based Indian steel magnate, a friend of the club's coowner Bernie Ecclestone, is ready to pour some of his estimated £26billion fortune into the Championship club.
A QPR source said: 'The club heard Mittal had been interested in Wigan and Everton, but this is a lot closer to home for him.' This is London
The Sun - It's a Steel By MAX SHORT
MULTI-BILLIONAIRE Lakshmi Mittal — the world’s fifth-richest man — is poised to become a director of QPR.
The Indian steel magnate is a friend of Rangers co-owner and Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone, and is ready to pour some of his £50billion fortune into the Championship strugglers.
Mittal bought Ecclestone’s house in Kensington for £70m and was a guest of Ecclestone and co-owner Flavio Briatore for Saturday’s 0-0 home draw with Wolves.
An R’s source said: “We heard Mittal had been interested in Wigan and Everton but this is a lot closer to home.
"The worry is what clubs are going to want for players when Rangers try to buy them.” The Sun
TWO YEARS AGO!
December 20, 2007
- The news of the Mittal announcement was announced two year ago today: It was definitely a time of giddy optimism as one of the world's richest people was investing in QPR!
- Of course this was before the World financial crash. But two year later: QPR still have the "moniker" of "World's Richest" and "Money bags" QPR although not at all clear such a title has actually been earned! (Or at what cost, if any, to QPR's "soul"!)
- Certainly Amit Bhatia is the current messageboard "hero" as Briatore has sunk a little in some posters' opinions.
Flashback Two Years: December 20, 2007
QPR Official Site - CLUB STATEMENT
QPR Announcement: The Mittal Family is Investing in QPR and Joining QPR's Board- Queens Park Rangers Football Club is delighted to announce today (Thursday 20th December 2007) that the Mittal Family has taken a 20 per-cent shareholding in QPR Holdings Limited.
- Alongside Mr Bernie Ecclestone, Mr Flavio Briatore and Sarita Capital, the Mittal Family will now be a significant shareholder in the Club.
- As part of the agreement, the Mittal Family have appointed Mr Amit Bhatia as a Director to the board of the Club.
- Speaking on behalf of Queens Park Rangers Football Club, the Board of Directors, said: "This investment in QPR by the Mittal Family is a great stepping-stone towards the future development of the Club and supports the ambition of the current shareholders to reach the Premier League in the near future.
"The new capital being invested in QPR will help fund the programme that is needed to help us achieve this target."
On behalf of the Mittal Family, Mr Bhatia, who is Mr Lakshmi Mittal's son-in-law, said: "The Family is excited about becoming involved with Queens Park Rangers Football Club.
"As a family, we love sport and particularly enjoy English football, and alongside Bernie and Flavio, we hope that we can improve the Club's performance, with the ultimate ambition of a place in the Premier League."
*The Club will be making no further comment at this stage.
PRESS COVERAGE OF THE MITTAL INVESTMENT/b]
AP - Britain's richest man invests in Queens Park Rangers soccer club
LONDON (AP) -The family of the richest man in Britain, steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, has bought a 20 percent stake in League Championship soccer club Queens Park Rangers.
The club, which was taken over by Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone and Renault team boss Flavio Briatore in November, did not disclose the sum paid for the stake.
Mittal will be represented on the club's board by his son-in-law Amit Bhatia.
"This investment in QPR by the Mittal family is a great stepping stone towards the future development of the club and supports the ambition of the current shareholders to reach the Premier League in the near future,'' the club said in a statement. "The new capital being invested in QPR will help fund the program that is needed to help us achieve this target.''
Italian coach Luigi De Canio was appointed in October but the club is currently last in the 24-club league, which is one tier below the Premier League. Despite that, Bhatia said the family was excited about the club's prospects.
"As a family, we love sport and particularly enjoy English football, and alongside Bernie and Flavio, we hope that we can improve the club's performance, with the ultimate ambition of a place in the Premier League,'' Bhatia said.
Mittal was ranked the fifth-richest man in the world this year by Forbes magazine, which estimated his worth at US$32 billion (?22.3 billion) in August.
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich was ranked 16th on the Forbes List. Chelsea is located just 5.6 kilometers (3.5 miles) from Queens Park Rangers in West London.
In 2004, Mittal bought a residence from Ecclestone in Kensington, London, for 70 million pounds. CNN/Sports Illustrated
MAIL - Billionaire Mittal buys £1.6m stake in Rangers
Lakshmi Mittal, an Indian steel magnate worth a reported £26billion, has joined Formula One supremos Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore as an investor in the Championship club.
QPR chose not to make public the amount Mittal has paid for his shareholding but it is believed to have cost him around £1.6million. Mittal will be represented on the club's board by his son-in-law, Amit Bhatia.
A club spokesman said: "This investment is a great stepping stone towards the future development of the club."
Mittal, 57, is a friend of Ecclestone after buying his £70million house in Kensington.
Bhatia added: "Our ultimate ambition is a place in the Premier League." Mail
Sporting Life/PA Sport - Andy Sims QPR BOOSTED BY MITTAL CASH INJECTION
QPR have received a major cash injection after the family of the world's fifth richest man, Lakshmi Mittal, bought up a 20% shareholding of the Coca-Cola Championship club.
Mittal, an Indian steel magnate who is worth a reported £50billion, will be represented on the club's board alongside Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore by his son-in-law, Amit Bhatia.
In a statement, the QPR board said: "This investment in QPR by the Mittal family is a great stepping stone towards the future development of the club and supports the ambition of the current shareholders to reach the Premier League in the near future.
"The new capital being invested in QPR will help fund the programme that is needed to help us achieve this target."
Formula One chief Ecclestone and Renault team boss Briatore took over at Loftus Road in November and had already pledged hefty transfer funds for manager Luigi De Canio.
Rangers are currently bottom of the Championship, but they could now potentially rival west London neighbours Chelsea in the transfer market should Mittal dip into his vast fortune.
Bhatia added: "The family is excited about becoming involved with Queens Park Rangers Football Club.
"As a family, we love sport and particularly enjoy English football, and alongside Bernie and Flavio, we hope that we can improve the club's performance, with the ultimate ambition of a place in the Premier League." Sporting Life
BBC - QPR secure huge investment boost
QPR have been given a cash boost after the family of the world's fifth richest man bought a 20% stake in the club.
The son-in-law of Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, who is worth a reported £50bn, will join Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore on the club's board.
"This investment is a great stepping stone towards the future development of the club," said a club statement.
"It supports the ambition of the current shareholders to reach the Premier League in the near future."
QPR are currently bottom of the Championship, but they could now potentially near neighbours and FA Cup third round opponents Chelsea in the transfer market, should Mittal wish to spend his cash.
"The family is excited about becoming involved with QPR," said Mittal's son-in-law, Amit Bhatia.
"As a family, we love sport and particularly enjoy English football, and alongside Bernie and Flavio, we hope that we can improve the club's performance, with the ultimate ambition of a place in the Premier League." BBC
SKYSPORT - Major cash boost for QPR
Mittal family joins Championship club's board - Sky <a href="http://qprreport.blogspot.com/2007/12/lakshmi-mittals-qpr-involvement-hits.html">QPR Report</a>
QPR Overtake Chelsea - QPR's New Owners: Various Reports-
The TIMES -The Insider - December 21Kevin Eason - QPR outdo the neighbours
Chelsea are no longer the richest club in West London. In fact, the rest of the Barclays Premier League combined would struggle to match the wealth that swung behind Queens Park Rangers yesterday. Lakshmi Mittal, Britain’s richest man, took a 20 per cent stake in the Coca-Cola Championship strugglers to line up with Bernie Ecclestone, his old friend, who bought the club this year with Flavio Briatore.
The combined wealth of Mittal and Ecclestone is a staggering £21.4 billion, according to the Sunday Times Rich List – more than double the fortune Roman Abramovich can call on to fund Chelsea. And even a trip to the ramshackle directors’ box at Loftus Road last weekend did not put off Mittal, the Indian steel magnate.
Nobody is entirely sure how much influence Mittal will exert for his 20 per cent but the signs are not good; he has appointed Amit Bhatia, his son-in-law, to take his place on the board, while Ecclestone, too, has his hands full running Formula One. Briatore is not exactly short of things to do either, running the Renault Formula One team plus his aptly-named Billionaire clothing and nightclub empire. There may be loadsamoney, but who is in charge? The Times
Mirror - Lo£tus Road - Why are some of the world's richest men buying into QPR? By Neil Mcleman 21/12/2007
Britain's richest man yesterday bought a 20 per cent stake in Queens Park Rangers, the worstside in the Championship.
Lakshmi Mittal, the Indian-born steel magnate who is worth £25bn, has invested an undisclosed sum in the club taken over last month by Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore. Mittal was ranked the fifth-richest man in the world this year ahead of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich in 16th place.
Qpr plan to use the 57-year-old's money to get into the top flight and challenge their west London neighbours. The two clubs meet in the FA Cup third round next month and Mittal, who has lived in London since 1995, will be represented on the Loftus Road board by his son-in-law, Amit Bhatia.
"As a family, we love sport and particularly enjoy English football," said Bhatia.
"Alongside Bernie and Flavio, we hope we can improve the club's performance, with the ultimate ambition of a place in the Premier League."
In 2004, Mittal bought a house in Kensington from Ecclestone for £70million - still the record price paid for a private residence in the UK.
New Italian manager Luigi De Canio has already been promised a large budget to invest during the January transfer window.
Qpr fan chief Paul Finney said: "Santa must be wearing blue and white hoops at the moment." Mirror
The INDEPENDENT -QPR welcomes the billionaire effect as Mittal strikes a deal By Danny Fortson, Business Correspondent
Money may not buy happiness, but it can buy a championship-winning football team, a truism lavishly proven by Roman Abram-ovich at Chelsea.
The board of Queen's Park Rangers was yesterday hoping that the arrival of a new billionaire owner in the form of Lakshmi Mittal, head of the world's largest steel company and the richest man in the UK, would herald a similar change of fortunes for the long-suffering club.
The West London club revealed yesterday that the steel baron paid an undisclosed sum for a 20 per cent stake, becoming the latest fabulously wealthy businessman to add an English football club to his trophy case. QPR, currently bottom of the Championship, welcomed the arrival of Mr Mittal, who has an estimated net worth of £20bn. "This investment ...is a great step towards the development of the club and supports the ambition of the shareholders to reach the Premier League in the near future."
Mr Mittal joins the club's other high-profile owners, Bernie Ecclestone, head of Formula One, and Flavio Briatore, the Renault team manager, who took over the club in September. Mr Mittal will be represented on the board by his son-in-law Amit Bhatia.
QPR declined to comment on spending plans beyond a statement saying: "The new capital being invested in QPR will help fund the programme that is needed to help us to achieve this target."
If recent history is a guide, QPR, which last played in the Premier League in 1996, is probably on the cusp of a liberally bankrolled make-over. It needs it. The club descended into farce last year when details emerged of a boardroom confrontation in which former director Gianni Baldini said he was held at gunpoint to force him to resign and sell his shares.
Mr Mittal's dip into the football world is the latest in a string of such deals. Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister of Thailand, bought Manchester City last summer and immediately splashed out tens of millions of pounds to hire former England coach Sven Goran Eriksson and a raft of pricey foreign players.
The Independent
The Guardian - Matt Scott/The Digger -
"...Mittal feathers the nest
A delegation of Queens Park Rangers fans' groups was received by the club's new board last week but there was no indication then that the billionaires' nest at Loftus Road would soon be joined by another. Rumours began to circulate that Lakshmi Mittal, left, had an interest when he was pictured sitting next to Bernie Ecclestone during the Wolverhampton Wanderers game on Saturday. Mittal's arrival was confirmed yesterday when he took a 20% stake and his son-in-law, Amit Bhatia, took a place on the board. But there is still no convincing word on what has drawn a crowd of Croesuses to the Championship's bottom team." The Guardian
qprreport.blogspot.com/2007/12/qpr-overtake-chelsea-and-other-stories.htm
The Sun - QPR are richest club in the world - By PAUL JIGGINS
CHELSEA fans will be choking on their cappuccinos today when they discover they are no longer the country’s richest club.
In fact, they are not even the wealthiest in West London any more.
That honour now goes to unfashionable neighbours Queens Park Rangers after Lakshmi Mittal — the fifth most minted man on the planet — bought a 20 per cent stakeholding.
And with the Rangers board already boasting F1 tycoons Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, it means the Championship’s bottom club have a fortune of more than £22BILLION — even bigger than Real Madrid.
Indian steel magnate Mittal topped last year’s Sunday Times Rich List with a near £20bn fortune — almost double that of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich.
F1 supremo Ecclestone is worth £2.5bn, while Renault chief Briatore has a cool £60m.
Chequebook
The three wealthy directors have pledged to splash the cash to turn Rangers into the game’s next big force.
And boss Luigi de Canio will be given an open chequebook to strengthen his squad during next month’s transfer window.
Mittal will be represented on the board by son-in-law Amit Bhatia.
He said: “The family is excited about becoming involved with QPR. As a family, we love sport and particularly enjoy English football.
“Alongside Bernie and Flavio, we hope we can improve the club’s performance, with the ultimate ambition of a Premier League place.”
Rangers were on the brink of going back into administration before Ecclestone and Briatore bought the club for £14m in September.
Paul Finney, of the Independent R’s supporters group, said: “Santa must be wearing blue and white hoops.
“It’s been a crazy season and now it looks set to be even more surreal.” The Sun
The Telegraph - Lakshmi Mittal pushes QPR up the rich list
By Kevin Garside
Roman's is no longer the pre-eminent pocket in west London. In one cursory flourish of his platinum card, the world's fifth richest man, who is worth £26 billion, has restructured the pecking order in Kensington and Chelsea. Ronaldinho is practically a Queens Park Rangers player. You never know, David Beckham might be supplying the crosses. He'd look good in hoops.
Fantasy is part of the infrastructure at Queen's Park Rangers. Ordinarily it extends no further than the absent fans, the thousands who proclaim allegiance, who convince themselves that they are supporters but so rarely trouble the turnstiles. Now Lakshmi Mittal is on board, to the tune of a 20 per cent holding, the missing Rangers hordes will be knocking down the doors before you can say Jose Mourinho for manager.
Money men: Lakshmi Mittal has joined forces with Bernie Ecclestone at Loftus Road
In 1974, a record 35,353 turned up to watch Don Revie's Leeds. The capacity now, albeit all-seated, is a more modest 19,100, a figure unlikely to be challenged by the visit of Colchester tomorrow. Make the most of the modest fare; the club is not planning to wither much longer in the nether regions of the game.
Just two months ago the catalyst among the Loftus Road magnates, Formula One's Bernie Ecclestone, sat in the Fuji paddock eulogising Rangers. Earlier that day Mount Fuji emerged from behind the clouds that had cloaked its wondrous peak. One wondered whether Bernie had the right Rangers, whether his state had not been altered by the mind-bending properties associated with Japan's magical mountain.
He spoke of a commitment to revisit the days of Thomas and Francis, of Marsh and Bowles, of a desire to parade Rangers in Europe, to dip the old place in stardust and give Loftus Road a facelift. The unveiling yesterday of Mittal as a partner in this preternatural project added weight to the fancy.
"Mittal is a mate of mine as you know," Ecclestone said. "I told him he should come on board; he took my advice. We want this to work. This is a great old club - they haven't always been where they are today. They were challenging Liverpool for the league title back in the Seventies. That is where we want to see them again, in the top flight.
advertisement"What surprises me is the number of people who are supporters that you never dreamt would be. I speak to people and they tell me they have been supporting QPR all their lives. We'll tidy the whole place up now and see what we can come up with. There will be investment in the club to make it the best it can be. There is a proper board in place and they will decide what the spend will be."
Having spent £30 million sending his daughter down the aisle, Mittal is unlikely to be counting the pennies. When asked if Mittal's involvement was a statement of intent, Ecclestone, hardly thrifty himself, replied: "Absolutely."
Seventeen years ago, a former sheet metal worker from Blackburn sold his company to British Steel for £360 million. Twelve months later, fans of Blackburn Rovers thought they must have died and gone to football heaven. Jack Walker was the new chairman and splashing millions on new stands and Alan Shearer. The result, in 1995, was a first championship since 1914.
Under Kenny Dalglish, Blackburn bloodied the noses of the football aristocracy. Under Mourinho, propelled by Roman's rubles, Chelsea added a second and third title 40 years after claiming their first. The mind boggles at the potential inherent in the bank balances of Messrs Mittal, Ecclestone and [Flavio] Briatore.
January offers the first opportunity to measure intent. This improbable triumvirate could blow the transfer window off its Roman-plated hinges. The teams immediately above QPR in the Championship table are all a whiter shade of pale this morning.
Briatore is the man pulling the strings. This is the same former ski instructor who made niche Italian knitwear sell like hot cakes. He then made Benetton winners in grand prix racing, introducing a chap called Michael Schumacher to the global stage. Ten years later he repeated the feat at Renault, making Fernando Alonso a double world champion.
Blackburn were decaying in the old Second Division when Walker blew into Ewood Park. Within a year they were founder members of the Premiership. Dizzying progress is the minimum requirement at QPR. This quaint, harmless club is about to be fast-tracked into the big league. If manager Luigi de Canio cannot fashion it, Briatore will find another who can. And don't be surprised were he to speak Portuguese.
www.telegraph.co.uk/garside
Loftus Road magnates
Lakshmi Mittal
Born: Sadulpur, India.
Age: 57.
Reputed to be the fifth-richest man in the world, Mittal owns 44 per cent of ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steel company. He began his career by working in his family's steel business, but in 1994 he branched out to take over the company's international operations, eventually becoming president of the board of directors.
Worth £26 billion
Bernie Ecclestone
Born: Bungay, Suffolk. Age: 77
Ecclestone, the 'ringmaster' for F1 motor racing, he made his mark by buying the Brabham team in 1972. Became chief executive of the F1 Constructors Association in 1978 and pioneered the sale of TV rights for the sport. Was at the centre of a controversy in 1997 when he gave the Labour Party a £1m donation.
Worth £2.25 billion
Flavio Briatore
Born: Cuneo, Italy. Age: 57.
Managing director of the Renault F1 team. Made his fortune after going into business with clothing company founder Luciano Benetton. Became managing director of the Benetton F1 team and then took on a similar role when it became Benetton-Renault, and then simply Renault.
Worth £50 Million
Telegraph QPR welcomes the billionaire effect as Mittal strikes a deal - By Danny Fortson, Business Correspondent
Published: 21 December 2007
Money may not buy happiness, but it can buy a championship-winning football team, a truism lavishly proven by Roman Abram-ovich at Chelsea.
The board of Queen's Park Rangers was yesterday hoping that the arrival of a new billionaire owner in the form of Lakshmi Mittal, head of the world's largest steel company and the richest man in the UK, would herald a similar change of fortunes for the long-suffering club.
The West London club revealed yesterday that the steel baron paid an undisclosed sum for a 20 per cent stake, becoming the latest fabulously wealthy businessman to add an English football club to his trophy case. QPR, currently bottom of the Championship, welcomed the arrival of Mr Mittal, who has an estimated net worth of £20bn. "This investment ...is a great step towards the development of the club and supports the ambition of the shareholders to reach the Premier League in the near future."
Mr Mittal joins the club's other high-profile owners, Bernie Ecclestone, head of Formula One, and Flavio Briatore, the Renault team manager, who took over the club in September. Mr Mittal will be represented on the board by his son-in-law Amit Bhatia.
QPR declined to comment on spending plans beyond a statement saying: "The new capital being invested in QPR will help fund the programme that is needed to help us to achieve this target."
If recent history is a guide, QPR, which last played in the Premier League in 1996, is probably on the cusp of a liberally bankrolled make-over. It needs it. The club descended into farce last year when details emerged of a boardroom confrontation in which former director Gianni Baldini said he was held at gunpoint to force him to resign and sell his shares.
Mr Mittal's dip into the football world is the latest in a string of such deals. Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister of Thailand, bought Manchester City last summer and immediately splashed out tens of millions of pounds to hire former England coach Sven Goran Eriksson and a raft of pricey foreign players. ttp://qprreport.blogspot.com/2007/12/qpr-are-richest-club-in-world-and-other.html
Newspaper Stories Before The Official QPR Announcement
DAILY TELEGRAPH - QPR seek slice of Lakshmi Mittal's £26bn - By Tom Collomosse
Queens Park Rangers hope to persuade Lakshmi Mittal, the world's fifth-richest man, to invest some of his estimated £26 billion fortune in the club.
The Indian steel magnate was a guest of Rangers co-owners Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore for the 0-0 draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Loftus Road last Saturday which left QPR bottom of the Championship.
Mittal, 57, is a friend of Ecclestone after buying the Formula One rights holder's £70 million house in Kensington.
A Rangers source said: "The club heard Mittal had been interested in Wigan and Everton, but this is a lot closer to home. He already knew Bernie from the time when he bought his house. The real worry is what clubs are going to want for players when Rangers try to buy them."
Ecclestone is thought to be worth about £2.5 billion, while multi-millionaire Briatore is the managing director of the Renault F1 team and has diverse business interests including fashion, nightclubs and pharmaceuticals.
Were Mittal to be brought on board, Rangers' spending power would dwarf even that of their west London rivals Chelsea, who are bankrolled by Roman Abramovich's £9.5 billion fortune.
Mittal's Kensington Gardens home is known as the 'Taj Mittal' as it is decorated with the marble taken from the same quarry that supplied the Taj Mahal mausoleum in Agra, India. In June 2004, Mittal paid more than £30 million to host his daughter Vanisha's wedding.
Even if Mittal, who has been linked with Birmingham City, as well as Wigan Athletic and Everton, were not to get involved, QPR's financial future appears secure, but it is the present which causes most concern.
Since appointing Italian Luigi de Canio to succeed John Gregory as manager in October, Rangers have shown little improvement.
De Canio is expected to invest heavily in new players during next month's transfer window, and he will be expected to lead a rapid upturn in Rangers' results, as Ecclestone and Briatore are not accustomed to presiding over failing institutions.
The pair took control of Rangers on Nov 7, since when they have attended the majority of home games. Briatore is frequently at the club's Harlington training base near Heathrow Airport and holds regular discussions with his compatriot, De Canio. Telegraph
This is London - Fifth-richest man in the world set to buy into Queens Park Rangers
Mittal: Latest big name linked with Rangers
Multi-billionaire Lakshmi Mittal — the world's fifth-richest man — is to become a director of QPR.
The London-based Indian steel magnate, a friend of the club's coowner Bernie Ecclestone, is ready to pour some of his estimated £26billion fortune into the Championship club.
A QPR source said: 'The club heard Mittal had been interested in Wigan and Everton, but this is a lot closer to home for him.' This is London
The Sun - It's a Steel By MAX SHORT
MULTI-BILLIONAIRE Lakshmi Mittal — the world’s fifth-richest man — is poised to become a director of QPR.
The Indian steel magnate is a friend of Rangers co-owner and Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone, and is ready to pour some of his £50billion fortune into the Championship strugglers.
Mittal bought Ecclestone’s house in Kensington for £70m and was a guest of Ecclestone and co-owner Flavio Briatore for Saturday’s 0-0 home draw with Wolves.
An R’s source said: “We heard Mittal had been interested in Wigan and Everton but this is a lot closer to home.
"The worry is what clubs are going to want for players when Rangers try to buy them.” The Sun