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Investor pardoned by Trump takes Bolton stake

A high-profile U.S. sports executive pardoned by Donald Trump in December, following an indictment for allegedly rigging a bidding process, has bought a minority stake in Championship club Bolton Wanderers, subject to regulatory approval.

Tim Leiweke was accused by the Department of Justice last summer of orchestrating a conspiracy to put off a rival bid for the construction of a sports arena at the University of Texas so that his own company, Oak View Group (OVG), could win the $375million contract.

In May, the 69-year-old invested €100 million ($114m; £85m) in newly-promoted Serie A side Venezia, with his daughter Francesca Bodie becoming the club’s president. Last month, he was blocked from buying a 16 per cent stake Benfica, as the Portuguese club’s board raised concerns about being part of a multi-club group.

And now Leiweke, his daughter and former OVG executive Keegan McDonald have formed a new entity called Entrepreneur Equity Partners to buy a stake in Bolton,

If approved by the new Independent Football Regulator, Leiweke will join the board, with McDonald becoming a board observer. They will sit alongside the majority-shareholder Nick Luckock and fellow minority shareholders Sharon Brittan, the club’s chair, and Michael James.

Brittan, James and Luckock, under the guise of Football Ventures, rescued the former Premier League side from bankruptcy in 2019 and have guided the club back from League Two, the fourth tier, to the Championship.

“I have always believed that reaching the Championship would not be the end of our journey but the point at which we looked for the right partners to help us solidify our position there,” said Brittan in a statement published on the club website on Friday. “In EEP, we have found a partner who understands our town, our community and the way we do things, who shares our vision for the future and brings real, proven experience of successfully building clubs and bringing supporters closer to the team.”

In the press release that announced the Bolton deal, Leiweke said he and his EEP partners were at Wembley to witness the team’s promotion “and the support we saw from the fans that day told us everything we needed to know” about the club and its fan base.

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