Zurich: Former Credit Suisse head of European investment banking Jamie Welch has become the latest US-based investor to buy a European football club, after taking control of Swiss team Yverdon Sport FC.
Based in the town of Yverdon-les-Bains, halfway between Geneva and Bern, the club recently won promotion to the Swiss Super League, the country’s top tier.
The deal follows several acquisitions by US-based investors. Hedge fund manager Tom Wagner recently bought a large stake in England’s Birmingham City, while other US or Canadian-based investors have bet on other British teams such as Wrexham, Ipswich Town, Lincoln City and Swansea City.
In Switzerland the investment bank Moelis is currently advising on a potential sale of fellow Super League team Grasshopper Zurich, Bloomberg has reported.
Initially an Australian legal graduate, Welch spent about 15 years at Credit Suisse before leaving in 2013 for a series of senior roles in the US energy sector. He is currently Chief Executive Officer of Kinetik Holdings Inc, a Houston-based gas company.
“We want to show that it is not a miracle that Yverdon Sport has made it to the Super League,” said Jeffrey Saunders, the newly installed president of Yverdon Sport, in a statement.
