Swansea City: Dispute over 2016 takeover settled

Steve Kaplan and Jason Levien led an American consortium which took charge at Swansea City in July 2016

The long-running dispute over the 2016 sale of Swansea City has been settled after the club, its former major shareholders and the Supporters' Trust "reached an agreement".

Trust members voted in 2019 to pursue legal action against Swansea's current and former owners over the nature of the takeover negotiations.

Previous attempts at mediation failed to find a resolution.

A statement released by the club said a "unified path" had been agreed.

The trust, which had claimed to have been excluded from the takeover negotiations, owns a 21.1% stake in the club.

As part of the new agreement, it has been given guarantees over its future as part of Swansea's ownership.

Swansea confirmed the fan representative group - which has held shares in the club and a seat on the board since 2001 - will see its shareholding include a "permanently protected 5% ownership position" and an "ongoing, indefinite representation" on the board.

"The trust is pleased to have reached a resolution that is in the best interests of the trust and football club, and looks forward to a new chapter built on mutual support and co-operation," said trust chair Dave Dalton.

Jason Levien and Steve Kaplan led the takeover of Swansea - who were previously owned by a group of largely local businessmen - by an American consortium in 2016.

They bought a 68% stake in a deal that valued the then Premier League club at £100m.

Former chairman Huw Jenkins was among those who sold shares, although he retains a stake in the Championship club.

The trust said at the time of the takeover it was disappointed by "a lack of engagement" over the share sale and revealed it was considering going down the legal route in October 2016.

But a trust statement on the settlement said it and the club could now "move forward in a constructive and collaborative partnership, which would not have been achievable had we become opposing parties in High Court litigation".

"The settlement agreement allows the trust to proceed with its core aims and ambitions, as well as to ensure that the trust is properly protected in the years ahead," the trust statement added.

The trust will receive a settlement payment of £500,000, with a further £500,000 payable should Swansea return to the Premier League.

The trust will also receive another £500,000 for each year Swansea stay in the top flight until an additional total of £1.5m has been paid.

Swansea said all parties had reached an agreement which would "support the football club moving forward".

Jake Silverstein, who joined Swansea's board in 2020, said: "This is the product of months of hard work spent in constructive and detailed conversations, between ownership and the Supporters' Trust and the former majority owners, to find our best path forward for all parties, and in particular the football club.

"This resolution has come about through a strong desire to figure out how we can ensure a long-term alignment of interests between all stakeholders and to establish a strong foundation from which to continue building a sustainable club that succeeds both on and off the pitch.

"I sincerely believe that we can move forward, work together and strive for success because at the core, we all want the same things for Swansea City."

Majority shareholder Jason Levien added: "We have been determined to establish the proper framework by which we can work together with the Supporters' Trust to support the club in continuing to thrive and move forward."