US group in talks to buy Sheffield United from Saudi prince
Sheffield United are in takeover talks with an American consortium led by private equity boss Steven H Rosen.
Rosen is the co-founder of Resilience Capital Partners, which mostly backs manufacturing and aerospace companies and has raised or advised on more than £500m of investments.
He is leading negotiations on behalf of a US consortium with Sheffield United’s Saudi owner, Prince Abdullah bin Mosaad bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, according to Bloomberg.
Sheffield United suffered the financial hit of relegation from the Premier League last season but are currently second in the race for promotion from the Championship.
Prince Abdullah has been seeking a buyer for at least 18 months and was previously in talks with Nigerian businessman Dozy Mmobuosi.
That deal collapsed in 2023 amid allegations that Mmobuosi did not have the funds. Last month US authorities fined him $250m for alleged fraud.
Lazard is reported to be advising Sheffield United on the potential sale to Rosen’s group.
If successful, it would further swell the ranks of US owners in English football. Half of Premier League clubs, including Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea, are majority owned by Americans or have an American as their largest shareholder.
Three of the Championship’s top six are US owned, while American investors have also launched ambitious projects at Wrexham and Birmingham City in the third tier.