London - K&L Gates LLP have advised Greenfield Investments (a subsidiary of Aser Group) on the acquisition of a 50 percent stake in Leeds United Football Club from companies controlled by Massimo Cellino.

Andrea Radrizzani, the President and Founder of Aser Group, stated: “I am delighted and proud to have acquired a 50 percent stake in such a prestigious football club as Leeds United. I am excited by the challenge ahead, and I will work alongside Massimo and everybody at the club to make Leeds United as successful as possible.”

The K&L Gates team advising on the transaction was led by relationship partner Warren Phelops and corporate partner John Elgar. K&L Gates advised on all of the M&A, football, and other regulatory and club-specific commercial aspects of the investment.

Phelops commented: “We were delighted to represent Andrea — who we have known for many years — and his first-class team on this important investment into Leeds United, one of the most iconic names in English football, and a club with which we are very proud to have worked on numerous occasions.”

The transaction builds on K&L Gates’ Global Sports practice’s rich history of high-end work in the football industry, including recent advice to the Bundesliga (on its international media rights tender), European Professional Football Leagues, La Liga, and PUMA.