Bournemouth's American owner wants to invest in Hibernian

American businessman Bill Foley is currently exploring the possibility to purchase stake in Scottish side Hibernian. The Edinburgh-based club is currently owned by United States investment group Bydand Sports. However, the company’s founder, Ron Gordon, passed away in February and his family is looking for other potential investors.

While Gordon’s family is seeking new investors in the team, they want to remain majority owners. This does not seem to bother Foley. The businessman recently went on the popular Men in Blazers podcast to discuss various topics. In the interview, Foley admitted that he was extremely interested in Scottish soccer.

“I’m fascinated by the Scottish Premier League (SPL). They play hard, Scots are tough,” proclaimed Foley in the interview. “They play a tough brand of football. And I believe there are opportunities to make one of the number four, five, or six SPL teams, to get them to number three and they play in Europe.”

“I believe we can pull that off with not a gigantic investment – and be a minority investor, be supportive of that club, and then work on sponsorship together because we have a whole sponsorship and I know we can help an SPL team. We’re working towards that goal right now with a particular team.”

Foley has set up partnership with EPL and Ligue 1 teams

Foley never specifically named Hibs in the interview. Still, multiple reports suggest it is the Scottish team the American has an interest in. Foley, 78, previously purchased Premier League club Bournemouth in late 2022. He, however, began investing in sports teams back in 2016. The National Hockey League awarded Foley an expansion franchise with the Las Vegas Golden Knights. The Golden Knights collected the Stanley Cup trophy back in June.

Along with Bournemouth, Foley and his partners also acquired a minority stake in French club Lorient in January of 2023. Although the American only owns a small percentage of the Ligue 1 side, he has set up a partnership between the team and Bournemouth. This will allow players that may not yet be ready to play in the Premier League the opportunity to first feature in France.

Bill Foley targets Hibernian among other teams across the world

Foley also admitted on the podcast that he would not stop in Scotland. The businessman claimed that he already has eyes on other teams around the world. “Then we have our sights set on some other clubs. And I believe we could end up with four or five economic interests in clubs,” continued Foley. “We would then have a system in place for players to advance and move on to the next club, then the next club.”

After potentially purchasing stake in Hibs, Foley may turn his attention Down Under. The American will soon receive an expansion franchise in the Australian A-League. The team is, however, to be based in Auckland, New Zealand.

Oddly enough, the city previously had a soccer club named the Knights. They were the only professional soccer team in the country before becoming defunct in 2007. After grabbing the new franchise, reports suggest that Foley would then continue his soccer team search in South America.

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