A former executive chairman and co-owner of Major League Baseball team the San Diego Padres is set to take a controlling stake in League One club Lincoln City.
American Ron Fowler initially bought a minority interest in third-tier Lincoln in April 2024, and he is now poised to replace Arizona-based Harvey Jabara as the majority shareholder if his bid is cleared by the English Football League.
Lincoln’s board approved a proposal from Fowler to increase his stake – through his company Liquid Investments – to more than 25% on 11 December.
Fowler, whose son Andrew is also involved in the club, will take on the position of chairman at LNER Stadium and will “assume responsibility for the funding of the club for the immediate future”.
The ownership shake-up at Lincoln, who are second in the table, was confirmed as a “future development” in the club’s annual accounts covering the 12 months up to June 2025.
“Acquiring 25% or more of the share capital is regarded by the EFL as acquiring control and consequently Liquid Investments Inc will need to demonstrate they are eligible to acquire control and are able to and will provide the necessary funding to ensure the club can continue to operate post-acquisition,” the club noted in its report.
Fowler will take on responsibility for a promotion-chasing club that reported a loss of just under £2.9m relating to the 2024-25 season.
While the club’s turnover was a record £8.5m, up from just under £7m the previous season, their losses were down from just under £3m a year earlier.
It was also a season in which the club’s shareholders put £3.6m into the club.
Funding that Fowler now intends to put into the club is said to have already been “earmarked” for “various projects at the LNER Stadium”.
Fowler is a business owner in the beverage industry in the United States.
He turned his attention to English football after his involvement in the Padres came to an end in March 2022, having served as vice-chairman after passing on control of the MLB team 16 months earlier.
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