The Americans from ALK Capital are in talks to buy Espanyol.

For several years, more than a dozen investment funds and business conglomerates have approached Espanyol with the intention of buying the club. However, the offers and the aspirations of Chen Yansheng, owner of the club through Rastar Group, have never reached a consensus. The Spanish-American companies of Five Eleven Capital, of which Antonio Cordón was the sporting director, and the also American MountainStar Sports Group, headed by Andrés Fassi and Norman Foster, were the ones that came closest to reaching an agreement in the recent past.

Now, as La Grada reported yesterday, the American fund ALK Capital, whose visible face is Alan Pace, owner of the English club Burnley, has been in talks with Chen Yansheng for months regarding a takeover, the outcome of which is not imminent, according to club sources consulted by this newspaper. The talks between the parties are still in a maturation period, and if an agreement is reached, it would not be effective until late 2025 or early 2026.

The club meets the ideal conditions for a possible purchase, but this will not be imminent.

On June 27, Espanyol will hold an important shareholders' meeting to approve a €38 million capital increase. This move puts the club in ideal conditions for sale. First, because through this transaction, the club will capitalize on the debt owed to Rastar Group, currently its sole creditor. This means that Espanyol will be debt-free with its parent company, with significant assets including the RCDE Stadium and the Dani Jarque Sports City, and with the team in the First Division . The scenario here seems ideal, and a sale appears to be a more realistic option than on previous occasions.

If Chen Yansheng and ALK Capital were to agree on the sale of the club, estimated by newspaper Sport at €190 million, this process would entail the signing of a letter of intent (LOI), a preliminary agreement or binding framework that includes due diligence as a step toward a possible sale. This due diligence would be required to be reported to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, where Rastar Group is listed, something that has not yet happened.

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ALK Capital, with offices in London and New York, is a management firm specializing in sports and media investments founded in 2019 by Pace. The American investor has extensive experience on Wall Street, having worked as a manager at Lehman Brothers and held a senior position at Citigroup. Pace was also president of Major League Soccer's (MLS) Real Salt Lake from 2006 to 2008. In 2020, the fund acquired English club Burnley for €170 million. Since ALK Capital's arrival, the club has experienced two relegations and two promotions to the Premier League.