Wigan Warriors are on the verge of being owned by a billionaire, according to reports.
Long-serving owner Ian Lenagan is set to sell his share in the club to Mike Danson, according to League Express.
Danson took around a 25 per cent stake in the club last summer, but it is claimed he will now complete a takeover from Lenagan, who bought the club in 2007 and has overseen a successful period for the club that has seen them crowned Super League champions four times, Challenge Cup winners twice and World Club Champions in 2017.
Rugby League Live has contacted the club for comment.
If Danson does purchase the club, he will comfortably become the richest owner in Super League.
Last year, the Sunday Times Rich List ranked Danson as the 128th richest person in the UK with an estimated worth of £1.17 billion. By comparison, Simon Moran, the Warrington Wolves owner, is the next wealthiest Super League owner on the list coming in at 851st, with a reported worth of £142 million.
The news comes as a significant surprise. Lenagan has been a vocal supporter of Super League becoming its own entity and among Robert Elstone's biggest allies. It remains unclear whether Lenagan will have any future involvement with the club should Danson complete a takeover as suggested.
Lenagan revealed last summer that he had pumped £500,000 of his own money into the club to help it during the pandemic.
Both businessmen are Wigan-born, another fact that, along with his personal wealth, will be a huge appeal to the Wigan supporters.
In 2018, Danson reportedly paid around $32 million for a mansion on East 74th Street in New York that had previously been owned by famous pop star Michael Jackson.
As for Lenagan, he has recently been linked with a takeover bid of football club Wigan Athletic, and though the administrator did confirm talks had taken place, there have been no developments confirmed in recent months.
