American businessman Kevin Nagle, the owner of USL Championship side Sacramento Republic, has begun the process to purchase English Championship side Huddersfield Town, he announced Tuesday.
“I am beyond pleased to announce I have entered into agreement with Dean Hoyle to purchase a full stake in Huddersfield Town,” Nagle said in a statement released through the Republic and Huddersfield.
“As the approval process is now under way, there will be no further comment until finalization, as we wish to 100% respect that process.”
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Nagle, who is also a minority owner of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings, has been associated with the Republic for nearly a decade and was part of the club’s ownership group when it was granted Major League Soccer expansion rights in 2019, an agreement that dissolved when lead investor Ron Burkle backed out.
“As I pursue this new endeavor and build new connections to elite levels of football, I remain committed to Sacramento Republic FC’s continued success and growth, our plan to build a stadium and community asset in downtown Sacramento, and bright future as a topflight club,” Nagle said.
Last month, MLS commissioner Don Garber did not dismiss the possibility that Sacramento could eventually join the top U.S. league, name-checking Sacramento alongside Las Vegas, San Diego, Detroit, Phoenix and Tampa.
Huddersfield Town has bounced around the English football pyramid, spending most of the last four decades in the second and third divisions.
From 2017-2019, Huddersfield was in the Premier League, but was relegated after finishing bottom of the table in 2018-19. The Terriers nearly earned promotion last season, finishing third during the regular season and losing to Nottingham Forest in the EFL Championship playoff final.
Nagle is the co-founder and former chief executive officer of Envision Pharmaceutical Holdings, Inc., which was sold to private investment firm TPG in 2013.