A BILLIONAIRE baseball guru is set to take a controlling stake in EFL minnows Lincoln City.
Ron Fowler, worth a staggering £1.45bn, is a US beverages giant and the former owner of MLB side San Diego Padres.
The 81-year-old handed out numerous record deals to players during his time there, including an eye-watering 10 year, £220million contract for Manny Machado in 2019.
Fowler, who served as chairman between 2012 and 2020, eventually stepped away from the Padres in 2022.
But just two years later he dipped his toes into the beautiful game by purchasing a minority stake in Lincoln.
However, Fowler is now on the verge of becoming the Imps’ chairman.
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The club have released a statement confirming he’s made a bid to acquire a majority stake in the club worth over 25 per cent.
The offer has been made through his company Liquid Investments alongside son Andrew.
And a proposal for Fowler to increase his shares was already approved by club chiefs last month.
The veteran businessman is now on the verge of replacing Harvey Jabara as Lincoln’s majority shareholder.
Fowler will also become the club’s chairman in place of Clive Nates, who himself will join Jay Wright as co-vice chairman.
It’s now expected that Fowler’s takeover will be finalised within the fortnight.
It comes as Lincoln make a push for promotion from League One.
They currently sit second in the table, four points off Cardiff and two ahead of Bradford.
The Imps reported a financial loss of £2.9m last season, while their turnover was a record £8.5m.
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