Saints have just confirmed that the the investment in the club has been concluded and a new era has begun.

Saints have just released a press statement to supporters, I'm sure there will be more to follow but it seems that it will be business as usual with the current structure kept in place.

Please find below a letter addressed to the fans of Southampton Football Club from Katharina Liebherr

I am pleased to confirm that talks to bring in a new partner to our club have been concluded.

Following extensive and fruitful work, we are entering into a partnership with the Gao family and I am excited about what we will achieve together.

Today is the start of a new and exciting chapter for our club. Mr Jisheng Gao and his daughter, Mrs Nelly Gao, with whom I have built a close relationship, share our values and ambitions. As a team, we will strive to build upon the strong foundation that is in place towards sustainable long-term success.

Mr Gao, Nelly and I have full trust in Ralph Krueger and his management team. We wholeheartedly support their plans to follow the Southampton Way in the years ahead.

But for now it is business as usual at Southampton Football Club and we must allow everyone at the club to focus on the first few weeks of the new season.

I would like to thank the passionate supporters of the club for their ongoing loyalty and faith, and I look forward to seeing you soon at St Mary's.

We March On.

Katharina Liebherr

Statement from Mr Jisheng Gao

I am honoured and humbled to become a partner of Southampton Football Club alongside Katharina Liebherr, who, together with her father, has been such a great steward of the club, its growth and success.

Together, we have the passion and motivation to build on Southampton’s excellent progress in recent years as we look forward to an exciting next chapter for the club.

Photo: Action Images

dirk_doone added 15:36 - Aug 14 It is worth mentioning that this is essentially the Lander deal. The Chinese government blocked the use of funds from China so Lander's owner has got money out through Hong Kong, using his family name instead of his company's.
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Sanguin added 15:44 - Aug 14 I’m interested to know what this will actually mean for the future of the club. I don’t think we’ll see huge investment and I’m worried that this takeover could ultimately destabilise the club’s finances. I’ve always been perplexed by the fans who suggest that the reason we sell players and don’t replace them is to line Katharina’s pockets. But saying that, I don’t think she’s agreed to this sale for the benefit of the club or to help the club progress to the next level, in this instance she is clearly profitting. Given her family saved the club from extinction and invested in it to get us back into the Premier League, I’m really happy for her!

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dirk_doone added 15:52 - Aug 14 "Jisheng Gao’s attempts to buy 80 per cent share of the club through his company, Lander Sports Development, had stalled because the Chinese government was unwilling to grant permission for the transfer of the funds overseas. But Sportsmail understands that Jisheng has instead made the purchase from Southampton owner Katharina Liebherr through Hong Kong – an autonomous territory through which many such deals are done."

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SaintPaulVW added 15:55 - Aug 14 My mind's open on this at the moment. If they struggled to find a way to get the money out to purchase, will there be similar problems in making future investments or will the club just be geared up with extra loans to provide the future 'investment'. Saints still have very little commercial income, so I imagine the club will be raising it's profile heavily in Asia now. This could create a big boost for funds to invest in the squad, facilities and Still Mary's. KL clearly doesn't want to invest more of her family's funds in the club so it's probably a wise move she exits now. Thanks are due to her and her father for saving, stabilising and building our club back up. Welcome aboard Mr Gao.

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TeamCortese added 16:00 - Aug 14 Interesting....The good news is that we still at least have Katerina involved. I would have been very worried if she had sold 100% of her stake...
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helpineedsomebody added 16:27 - Aug 14 KL walks away with over 200 million pounds in her bank account who pays that dedt
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Jesus_02 added 16:42 - Aug 14 200m for 80% seems pretty modest TBH...The current starting 11 cant be fare of that value and its only a little more than Naymar. I'm sure that the complete breakdown of the deal will look more interesting when the dust has settled. For instance I believe that Kat has loaned the club a large amount as well. We may even be shocked to see some additional investment, either way I dont think that Kat has walked away with 200m!

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LeTissIwish added 17:27 - Aug 14 So it's official then, Southampton Football Club is worth slightly more than Neymar.
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VancouverSaint added 17:28 - Aug 14 I'm cautiously optimistic. This deal has been so long and protracted, whether that's just about getting the money out of China or the structure of the "deal". I'm sure Kat and Ralph have been pretty adamant on what they want Mr Gao's position to look like going forward. I would imagine the level of investment and the terms of trading players etc have been hammered out. These two are no dummies. She want's her 20% to grow in value after all. Maybe this was the right thing to do to shut up all the clubs that have walked in and raided us in the past. hopefully the shoe will be on the other foot and we may get to do a little raiding ourselves! Anybody spell Coutinho?

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IanRC added 17:31 - Aug 14 The sale of shares doesn't burden Saints with any more debt, it is just a transaction between one shareholder and another.
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helpineedsomebody added 19:02 - Aug 14 the burden now is who pays the bank in hk cant be interest free can it
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DellHero added 19:08 - Aug 14 How long before he shifts a load of debt onto us? How long before he buys out the rest?
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bstokesaint added 19:13 - Aug 14 I believe that Kat and Ralph are genuinely doing what they think is best for the club. Whether this new Chinese family can take us forward I remain sceptical on, but we'll see. I'll try and give them the benefit of the doubt. I can't see that after everything we've been through that RK & KL are going to try and screw the club up that they invested so much effort in and fought to get under proper financial control. Fingers crossed for the future.

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helpineedsomebody added 19:32 - Aug 14 if sky crack the tv markets in india/china/america in the next 6 years then i can see each EPL clubs trousering 1billion pounds each per season. thats the only way i see the new owner making money for himselve
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BoondockSaint added 20:20 - Aug 14 The bit that makes me nervous is if Kat wanted to make sure things still ran the way she wanted, she would have only sold 49% and kept control. Now it doesn't matter what she wants-we have a new owner and she just owns some shares.
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SanMarco added 22:30 - Aug 14 I have no idea what to think about this. I trust Kat in terms of her motives but whether this will really lead to a more secure future I don't know. I think the questions over debt raised above are important. This guy can do what he wants now - as Boondock says, Kat's 20% isn't going to stop him.
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saintmark1976 added 23:52 - Aug 14 So let's get this right then. K L owns S F C and quite correctly had 100 percent of the shares. She sells 80 percent of the shares for 200 odd million. Unless I am missing something where will the 200 million go? Surely it then belongs to K L and will not stay within S F C, otherwise why would she sell in the first place? Well done to her, she walks away with 200 odd million ( less what she has put in over the years) for something her father bought for 13 odd million. Nice work if you can get it.

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Letiss7 added 00:21 - Aug 15 Not a penny has actually gone into the clubs finances, and the real worry is this another Manchester United model. When United were taken over by the Glazers, it was bought by borrowed money. All of the debt for financing this loan, was under written by the club and not by the Glazers. Essentially the club was mortgaged to the hilt, which in the early days was nearly 40% of turnover to finance the debt year on year. Manchester United had the commercial turnover to get through this, and with the Sky money, they have gone from strength to strength. Maybe the debt is not Saints to service, but should it be then i personally would be worried.

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