Reading takeover completed as Couhig buys club

American businessmen Todd Trosclair and Rob Couhig have completed their purchase of Reading FC

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The women's team, a Women's Super League (WSL) side as recently as 2023, were also withdrawn from the second tier last summer because of the financial issues and now compete in the fifth tier.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

During Couhig's stint with Wycombe, the Chairboys achieved a first-ever promotion to the Championship in 2020.

They were relegated back to the third tier of English football the following year, but finished fifth this season - nine points ahead of Reading - and are currently goalless with Charlton Athletic following the first leg of their League One play-off semi-final.

Couhig has been involved in several business in the United States, including real estate, film and pharmaceuticals, as well as being a former owner of now defunct football side New Orleans Storm.

He has also ventured into politics, serving as a Republican campaign manager for former State representatives Garey Forster and Sam LeBlanc, a campaign co-ordinator for US Representative Bob Livingston, and twice standing unsuccessfully for election as mayor of New Orleans, his home city in Louisiana.

Rob Couhig in 2022, during his time at Wycombe Wanderers

The end of a tumultuous era

News of a successful takeover will come as relief to Reading's squad and fans, after a long period of increasing instability under Yongge.

The Chinese businessman and his sister Dai Xiu Li completed their takeover in May 2017, with a seventh place finish in the 2020-21 Championship season the highpoint before the club's financial troubles began to pile up.

An initial six-point deduction was handed down by the EFL in November 2021, for a breach of profit and sustainability rules, and by April 2023 the Royals had been docked a further six points for failing to comply with the terms of an agreed business plan for the previous breach.

That penalty contributed to their relegation from the Championship at the end of the 2022-23 season, and the club were deducted six more points last season for failing to pay wages and a tax bill on time.

Amid repeated fan protests, including a mass pitch invasion that forced the cancellation of a January 2024 home match against Port Vale, the club was put up for sale in March 2024.

Reading have since continued to battle through a series of transfer embargoes and this season finished seventh in League One, three points shy of the play-off spots.

'For the first time in years fans can relax' - analysis

BBC Radio Berkshire's Reading commentator Tim Dellor:

The deal is over the finish line!

Eleven days ago we were told it had been agreed in principle, but this statement - the last of dozens issued by the EFL and Reading FC over the last couple of years - brings the sorriest saga in Reading FC's history to an official end.

The last couple of legal technicalities, and the signing of documents, had been complicated by Dai Yongge being in China, and Rob Couhig and Todd Trosclair being in the States.

After so many missed deadlines, collapsed deals and rumours on social media, fans were just starting to get anxious again, but now, for the first time in years they can relax.

Yongge and his sister Dai Xiu Lee have left the building, and have no stake in the club.

The training ground and stadium are all wrapped up in this deal, which is also good news, there had been a fear during the sales process the three entities might be split up.

Couhig and Trosclair arrive under the banner of Redwood Holdings, that's the company that now owns Reading FC.

They nearly got a deal over the line last September, and it looked as if with that deal collapsing their chance was gone.

Dogged determination, and some brilliant knowledge of corporate law, provided them with a second chance.

They arrive as knights in shining armour. Some of their recent tactics to acquire the club may not have been to everyone's liking, but such was Yongge's unpopularity, all fans will now be rejoicing.

Couhig and Trosclair will use their experience owning Wycombe Wanderers to right the ship at the SCL.

For me, Reading is a far bigger club - with a bigger fanbase and higher expectations - but expect forensic accountancy, some prudent signings as they try and build a squad capable of getting back up into the Championship, and above all a renewed sense of optimism around the place.

There wasn't much of that about during Yongge's tenure.