Vietnamese American businessman becomes co-owner of Chivas USA

Thursday, Oct 02, 2014 15:40

Henry Nguyen is in a group slated to purchase Chivas USA football club. – Photo Vietnamnet

HA NOI (Biz Hub) – Vietnamese American businessman Henry Nguyen, or Nguyen Bao Hoang, and three other businessmen have spent more than US$100 million to purchase American football club Chivas USA, Sports Illustrated (SI.com) reported.

Major League Soccer is expected to announce the ownership group of Henry Nguyen, Peter Guber, Vincent Tan, and Tom Penn next week after the League's board of governors meets in Los Angeles on Monday. Among the investors, Nguyen holds the largest stake. Nguyen, 40, is the general director of IDG Venture Vietnam. He recently brought the first McDonald's franchise to Vietnam and is the owner of basketball club Sai Gon Heat. According to SI.com, Nguyen will move to Los Angeles as the majority partner.

Meanwhile, Guber is a Hollywood producer and co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Golden State Warriors. Tan is the Malaysian owner of Cardiff City, which played in the Premier League last season, and will be a minority owner in the Chivas USA. Penn is a former NBA executive and analytics expert who has worked at ESPN.

The purchase would mean that Chivas USA would fold, as the second Los Angeles team to take the field as an expansion team in 2017 with a new stadium in downtown Los Angeles.

According to SI.com, the group has committed to building a new football stadium in Los Angeles. Sources say that the possible location will be either in downtown L.A. or near the Hollywood Park racetrack.

Club Chivas USA is an American professional football club located in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California, which has competed in MLS games since 2004. In February 2014, MLS purchased Chivas USA from Vergara and announced plans to sell to a buyer dedicated to keeping the club in Los Angeles. They also planned to rebrand the club in time for the 2015 MLS season. – VNS

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