EFL consider loan from hedge fund MSD UK Holdings to help struggling clubs - report

The Daily Mail report MSD UK Holdings are one of several commercial lenders EFL chiefs have held talks with in a bid to help those clubs struggling as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and suspension of football earlier this year.

The new season is set to start on September 12 but there is no date yet for when fans will be allowed back into stadiums with a number of clubs concerned about the impact on their revenues from gate receipts and hospitality.

MSD UK Holdings have recently invested in Derby County and Southampton.

MSD UK Holdings are a newly-established investment group set-up to manage the wealth of billionaire technology tycoon Michael Dell, who last year was mentioned as a potential ‘passive, minority investor’ in a deal to buy Sunderland.

Robert Platek – a director of MSD UK Holdings and an associate of Dell – was heavily involved in those takeover and investment talks with Sunderland AFC last year, which resulted in a £9million loan being given to Stewart Donald’s holding company, Madrox Partners, by a group called FPP Sunderland.

Platek, along with long-time business partners John Phelan and Glenn Fuhrman, were named as directors of FPP.

All three have links to Dell having worked for MSD Capital – the group who manage the wealth of the Dell family – in the United States.

The Daily Mail report: “The EFL are understood to be seeking a £250million aid package from the Premier League payable over the next four years. But no agreement has been forthcoming, so they have been forced to pursue other options. The talks with potential lenders are believed to have centred on a phased loan for a smaller amount, to be reviewed monthly.”

The report claims several clubs including Wigan, Oldham, Charlton and Southend have serious financial concerns following the pandemic.

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