TWTD understands Town’s US-backed takeover could happen as soon as next month.

As reported yesterday, speculation regarding a takeover at Portman Road has been circulating for a couple of weeks but is more advanced than has previously been suggested.

We understand the deal which would see the club change hands to a US-based group is worth £30 million.

Current owner Marcus Evans, who is set to write-off his debt, which will now have climbed to around £100 million, is understood to be keeping a five per cent stake in Town, presumably so he could potentially profit from a future sale if and when the Blues reach the Premier League.

It’s also believed that Evans will keep hold of some of the training ground, some or all of the Bent Lane side of the facility, with development having long been eyed for a small section of the field between already existing housing close to the road.

The ownership of that part of the training ground was transferred to another Evans company, London & Merchant Properties Limited, previously known as Marcus Evans (Guernsey) Ltd, in 2011 largely for tax reasons.

While Brett Johnson, from Phoenix Rising and FC Tucson, has entered the spotlight after following Town’s Twitter account in recent days, we understand the 51-year-old is just one of a number of investors.

TWTD understands that much of the cash will come from the pension fund for the fire and police services of a so-far unnamed US state.

Bristol City chief executive Mark Ashton has been strongly linked with the same role at Town as part of the takeover, and Robins head of operations/club secretary Luke Werhun is also believed to be wanted by the new set-up. However, there is no confirmation that either will be leaving Ashton Gate.

It’s believed that the consortium will look to bring in a new manager with The Athletic reporting that Paul Cook will be the man to replace current boss Paul Lambert.

Cook, 54, has been out of work since resigning from Wigan Athletic in the summer, having previously had spells in charge of Southport, Sligo, Accrington, Chesterfield and Portsmouth.

TWTD reported in January that Cook had been sounded out by Evans about taking over at Town should there be a vacancy.

Compensation will be due to the Latics' administrators with Cook still in contract with the Lancastrians when he departed.

Lincoln boss Michael Appleton was believed to be a target having previously worked at Oxford United with Ashton and Mike O’Leary, who along with Johnson is a director of Gamechanger 20, a company which was formed last year and is believed to be the vehicle for facilitating the takeover. Ashton is not among the directors.

However, Appleton yesterday signed a new four-year deal with the Imps and may have been less keen to move on from the division’s second-placed side even prior to penning his new contract.

Also among the directors of Gamechanger 20 is Berke Bakay, principal owner, governor and co-chairman of Phoenix Rising, who made his money from Kona Grill, a restaurant chain.

Like Ashton, O'Leary, who appears to be the driving force behind the consortium, has a background at West Brom having been the chief executive officer at the Hawthorns for two years in the early 2000s.

The takeover, which is not yet signed and sealed, would see a summer of great change at Portman Road, both on the field and off it.

Photo: Matchday Images

westernblue added 18:13 - Feb 26 I'm surprised that so many posters seem to see this news (such as it is) as grounds for total celebration. Yes, the club is in a seriously worryingly state. But there are potential avenues for an owner to squeeze profit out of it. Take Portman Road. Just a few years ago, the possibility was raised of the club (under ME) buying it. OK, it didn't happen. But the real estate has obvious development potential. And local government has had the life all but squeezed out of it especially in the last decade. Who knows whether the Council, under doubtless pressure from many sides, might have to accede to an offer to purchase the freehold in the future. One of Town's glories is a town centre ground. I for one would be extremely sad if we were to end up in some flat-pack affair in a remote corner like Pride Park or the Riverside.

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istanblue added 18:20 - Feb 26 Evans out and Lambert out in one fell swoop! This is the best news in the entirety of the Evans era. #EvansOut #PRPaulOut
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Marinersnose added 18:22 - Feb 26 Good news if it's true but I remain sceptical of this Pension Fund investment. Who would possibly see Ipswich Town as a lucrative investment. I'll watch as this develops. Evans remaining the shrewd slippery man he's always been especially around the training ground ownership. All very intriguing
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leftie1972 added 18:28 - Feb 26 This is looking more positive by the day!
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Bluedandy added 18:31 - Feb 26 The potential upside for U.S. investors buying Ipswich Town is far, far greater than say Burnley who were also recently snapped up by Americans. The only way is down for Burnley who cannot get any bigger and in normal times struggle to fill pokey Turf Moor even in the Premier League. In the right hands Town could fly to become a regional football powerhouse in what is a huge catchment area with no genuine East Anglian rival.

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therein61 added 18:32 - Feb 26 Speaking of pensions we've a few that need pensioning off instead of playing!!
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dude added 18:36 - Feb 26 Ted Lasso?
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Northstandveteran added 18:39 - Feb 26 I had posted something very similar a few days ago westernblue. Prime building land in a good location. Could a ground share with Colchester United be on the cards?! Aaaaaargh!!!!
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bluearmy4life added 18:53 - Feb 26 Am I dreaming?! This is unbelievable news. Hopefully we get this all signed and sealed ASAP. Hopefully the deal gets done quickly as we don't want this to affect the players and staff too much. If Evans wipes our debt we will be very grateful. It's been horrific under Evans. Hearing news like this gives you hope, belief, and a real sense of pride again and makes us proud to be an Ipswich Town fan. I certainly won't be waving any notes if we get taken over. Hopefully in a couple of years time we can start singing “Norwich City we're coming for you” We have to be ruthless in the next couple of years. I want us to see success, and I really believe Paul Cook would be a great manager at our club. Better days are coming, hopefully!

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meekreech added 18:54 - Feb 26 Value will always be questionable as the club do not own the land the stadium stands on. The only assets that any one can realise is the players as the stadium has no value other than as scrap materials. This could have all been avoided if our dear friend David Sheepshanks had refrained from gambling on personal glory leading to the Marcus Evans years!
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Grigzee added 18:55 - Feb 26 Can anyone more knowledgeable than myself comment on investment and FFP rules? Can a new owner chuck in money without FFP being compromised? If the price is only £30M, you would have thought Ed Sheeran would be interested?
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martin587 added 18:56 - Feb 26 Personally I would rather not speculate until the takeover is made official having said that I would be very happy providing the consortium is prepared to invest with good intentions and of course bring in a good manager to replace PL. We can only wait and hope with baited breath.🤞
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slaughteredskipper added 19:04 - Feb 26 What am I missing? We've been lamenting our financial woes, Marcus Evans inability to run a club and a manager who fails to inspire and now that appears to be addressed we are all worried this might happen. Have we forgotten what it feels like to be optimistic? Surely this is a positive step?
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HarleydavidsonBlue added 19:21 - Feb 26 Having read all the comments on here tonight, i am amazed at the negativity ! We were going nowhere under Evans (only down), PL was not interested, the players were not interested. New Owners, new manager, a big clear out of all the dead wood, players and management, a clean sheet. Lets see where this new chapter takes us. I for one am very excited about the future. C O Y B.

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rabbit added 19:24 - Feb 26 Over the years IBC have made huge expensive errors which transformed an historically iconic market town into a relatively ugly mess. TBF it gradually being improved but the money that has been wasted is frightening. The one great thing they have done over the years is to maintain ownership of the football ground and providing they maintain this stance no matter how far the football club falls there will always be the possibility of a team. There is no potential asset strip at ITFC without the stadium so whoever these investors are there is damage limitation. Fingers crossed I guess.

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Linkboy13 added 19:32 - Feb 26 No matter what manager is appointed it's always a gamble but we've got to be realistic we're in the third tier so we're not going to get Pep or Jurgen. One of the things Cook needs to sort out is player recruitment so let's hope he has plenty of contacts. There's going to be a lot of comings and goings in the summer as the current squad has proved not to be up to the task.

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bringingbackthedutch added 19:46 - Feb 26 One thing that is incredibly implausible about this is the idea that the cash would come from a pension fund. It's not uncommon for US or Canadian funds to make large scale investments in the UK , but not on the basis of a purely speculative investment. There is no circumstance in which we should really want the club to be sold to corporate investors looking for short term gain.

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maninashed added 19:55 - Feb 26 This does not necessarily look like good news to me. They are hardly doing it because they are ITFC fans. They will be in it for the money. Pension schemes are not charities, as it turns out Marcus Evans has been. More like asset stripping and a possible leveraged buyout. At least they can't sell the ground, but we could be training on Alderman Road Rec. It could mean the end of the Academy. Why have the expense of an Academy when you can get other teams rejects for free?

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Help added 20:12 - Feb 26 Sorry but not another Paul. Disaster looms under Cook me thinks
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bringingbackthedutch added 20:13 - Feb 26 On the FFP stuff that Grigzee mentioned, I'm not an expert and they will have made some changes due to the impact of COVID-19 , but I believe the current Championship regulations are that you can post a maximum loss of £13million a season with owner investment and max £5mil with no owner investment. In recent history I think clubs like Wolves just massively overspent and gambled on getting promoted and then weren't punished because the premier league is basically a separate entity with different rules. However, if you do massively overspend and fail to get promoted the sh*t would hit the fan. The sad and unpalatable truth is that for significant periods Evans' investment combined with the debt each season was very close to the FPP limits.

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ringwoodblue added 20:14 - Feb 26 I think we desperately need a new owner, a complete change of management team and a clearout of the deadwood and underperformers in the playing staff so this needs to happen. However, I can't see Paul Cook getting us to the Premier League but maybe the Championship. We need another Bielsa or Nuno Espirito Santo plus considerable investment in a few quality players to get two successive promotions. I also worry about our most promising youngsters who may find their first team opportunities limited if this happens.

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FromIpswichToPhoenix added 20:22 - Feb 26 It'll be interesting if Brett Johnson does take over. Maybe my username was a premonition?
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62WasBest added 20:27 - Feb 26 Bluedandy - I presume you do know about how the takeover of Burnley was financed. Never assume any takeover is not necessarily an asset strip in disguise, either. It is all about how it the sale is arranged, and the strategic vision versus the reality.
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Lightningboy added 20:37 - Feb 26 But it can't be true because the “experts” on the forum poo-pooed it last weekend....... 🙊🙊🙊
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barrystedmunds added 20:44 - Feb 26 Welcome to the Kona Grill Stadium!!
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