Former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is closing in on an outright purchase of Manchester City after he secured a further ten per cent stake in the club.
In a stock exchange announcement this morning, it was revealed that Mr Shinawatra had boosted his overall holding to 65.78 per cent in buying up a further 9.88 per cent in the club.
Mr Thaksin's holding company UK Sports Investments needs to own 75 per cent of the club before he is allowed to remove shares from the exchange and complete a takeover.
When he completes the deal, the new owner will be able to install former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson as the new manager at Eastlands, replacing Stuart Pearce, who was sacked at the end of last season.
The club has been valued at £81.6 million as part of the deal and the takeover is expected to be completed within the next few weeks.
Doubts had been raised over Mr Thaksin's suitability for taking control of a Premiership club after it emerged that he would face corruption charges in his native Thailand.
However many commentators, and those close to the deal itself, claim that the buyout is fully above-board and legitimate and that Mr Shinawatra would have no trouble passing the Premier League's 'fit and proper person' test for any new owner, should he be required to.
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