Oldham Athletic: Sale of beleaguered club could take place within four weeks
- Published
The use of Boundary Park's North Stand, as well as the ground's ownership, has been the subject of a court battle in recent years
Oldham Athletic could be sold within the next month, after the owners of the club and its Boundary Park home agreed to compromise to enable a sale.
The club says, external an as yet unnamed local business has agreed to buy the club from Abdallah Lemsagam, and Boundary Park from Brass Bank Limited.
The identity of the buyer will be made public once the deal is complete.
The Latics, relegated from League Two last term, say a completed takeover is targeted in "less than four weeks".
Lemsagam has been the subject of protests at the beleaguered club during his four-and-a-half-year ownership, but pledged to sell the Latics in a statement in January.
An ongoing dispute over the ownership of their Boundary Park home, as well as concerns over the safety of their North Stand, has also overshadowed on-field matters at the club.
Former owner Simon Blitz, who owns Brass Bank Limited, and Lemsagam have agreed "significant compromises", although the club do not state what these compromises are.
Oldham say that the buyer is "not a consortium but a long-standing successful local business".
"This announcement is aimed to reduce speculation and provide long-term certainty which will help [manager] John Sheridan continue to build a competitive squad," they added.
'A big compromise that will benefit the club' - analysis
BBC Radio Manchester's Mike Minay
For the past four years under Abdallah Lemsagam, Oldham Athletic have performed badly on the pitch but always with a background of off-field issues.
The biggest part of that has been a wrangling over the newest stand, the Joe Royle Stand, between its landlords and the club owner.
Both have wanted to sell their investments, but at individual prices. This new deal, combining both, shows a big compromise and one that will benefit the club long term.
The news of the club sale will please a large portion of the fanbase who have protested against Lemsagam, for most of last season - feeling that his interest in the club has lessened, the off-field issues the club has faced and his recruitment of both players and managers has been poor.