Blackburn Rovers are Indian!

It took a little longer then expected, but finally the Venky's (Venkateshwara Hatcheries Group) owned by the Rao family have taken over English Premier League club Blackburn Rovers. It is the first takeover of an EPL club by Indians and one will have to see if this deal does open the door for other Indians interested in EPL clubs making a serious move now.

The statement on Blackburn's official website said the club's holding company had sold its 99.9 percent shareholding in Rovers to Venky's London Limited, a newly formed company owned by the Rao family of India.

"The board of Blackburn Rovers Football and Athletic plc today announces the sale by BRFC Investments Limited (a company indirectly wholly owned by the Jack Walker 1987 Settlement) of its 99.9 per cent shareholding in BRF&A to Venky's London Limited," the statement said.

Venky's had completed the deal for 23 million pounds or 17.17 pence per share, while debts in the region of 20 million pounds are also taken on by the new owners.

"We are very pleased to be passing on the Rovers to the Rao family," Paul Egerton-Vernon, chairman of the Jack Walker Settlement Trustees said.

"We have been impressed with their enthusiasm for the club, and their plans and ideas for future investment to develop it further as well as their wish and commitment to preserve the legacy of Jack Walker.

"We are particularly pleased that the club will continue in family ownership and that the existing management team at the Rovers led by John Williams will continue unchanged."

Venky's chairman Anuradha J Desai said they were "delighted, proud and humbled to be associated with Blackburn Rovers. We will absolutely respect the Jack Walker legacy and will be actively supporting the organisation to ensure that Blackburn Rovers remains one of the best-run clubs within the Premier League."

"We are particularly pleased that the deal has the full support of the Walker Trust, the chairman and the management team, who will of course remain in place with our full support," she added.

So India finally have their first owners of an English Premier League club. And it is somewhat of a surprise. Not one of the biggies of English football, not one of the richest Indians have done the deal. But Venky's seem to be going about the deal properly with Kentaro advising them on their investment, but they will need football and Indian football expertise to maximise their investment in the Indian market. The media coverage so far shows that they have the goodwill of India!

I was asked live on air by the BBC's World Service today what impact Venky's takeover of Blackburn Rovers could have on India and it's football. A difficult question, but I think that could help us as young Indians could train at an EPL club and if plans are true then Venky's could launch an I-League club in the coming years.