Reading FC: Rob Couhig completes takeover of League One club

Reading's takeover by ex-Wycombe Wanderers owner Rob Couhig is complete, the club have announced.

The Royals revealed earlier this month that a "sale in principle" to Redwood Holdings Limited, a subsidiary of Dogwood Football LLC which is owned by the American lawyer and his business partner Todd Trosclair, had been agreed.

That deal has now been finalised and ratified by the English Football League (EFL).

It means Couhig, 75, will take control of shares in the League One club, the Select Car Leasing Stadium and Bearwood training ground from former Reading owner Dai Yongge, whose tenure as majority shareholder since 2017 has been fraught with financial difficulties and years of fan protests.

Reading said: "The club are pleased to announce that Redwood Holdings Limited - a subsidiary company of Dogwood LLC, owned by Rob Couhig and Todd Trosclair of New Orleans, Louisiana - has completed the acquisition of 100% of the shareholding in Reading Football Club.

"The takeover, which has received EFL clearance, completed very early on Wednesday morning and includes the Select Car Leasing Stadium and Bearwood Park training ground.

"Both Couhig and Trosclair will join the club's board with immediate effect, with Rob Couhig being named as chairman.

"Redwood is ambitious and dedicated towards the club returning to its rightful place within the English football pyramid, while adhering to clear principles of honesty, transparency, and financial sustainability.

"Further communication from Redwood will follow in due course."

Reading's past three seasons under Yongge's ownership have seen the club drop to the third tier of English football amid a series of transfer embargoes and deductions amounting to a total of 18 points.

The women's team, a Women's Super League (WSL) side as recently as 2023, were also withdrawn from the second tier last summer because of the financial issues and now compete in the fifth tier.

Couhig, who stepped down as Wycombe Wanderers chairman, external last June, had previously attempted to buy Reading last year but negotiations broke down in September 2024.

In March, Yongge - who was disqualified as an owner by the English Football League (EFL) and given an April deadline to sell the club - claimed the American was blocking his attempts to sell, with Reading then in a period of exclusivity with a separate unnamed potential buyer for a deal that subsequently fell through.

Couhig denied the claims and the injunction Yongge sought against him was rejected by the courts, leaving the door open to another round of negotiations.

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