Former Sunderland chairman Stewart Donald is in the process of taking over National League side Eastleigh FC for a second time. Donald last month reduced his stake in the Black Cats from 19 percent to nine percent in a move that saw majority shareholder Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and fellow board member Juan Sartori increase their holdings in the club.
And with Donald's holding now below the ten percent threshold set out in EFL rules, he is able to take an active role at another club. A statement on Eastleigh's official website said: "Eastleigh Football Club can today confirm that an agreement to purchase the club has been reached with Stewart Donald.
"The takeover is subject to ratification from the National League, EFL, and DCMS [Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport] along with the appropriate owners and directors' test approval. Confirmation of the takeover is expected to be received shortly from all governing bodies.
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"The takeover will see Stewart Donald purchase a controlling stake in the club from the four majority shareholders."
Donald originally bought Eastleigh in February 2010, but had to sell the club in 2018 in order to lead the Madrox consortium which bought Sunderland from Ellis Short. Louis-Dreyfus bought a controlling stake in Sunderland in February 2021, and became the club's majority shareholder last summer when he bought further shares from Donald along with Charlie Methven's minority holding.
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