EFL League One side Oxford United has switched ownership this week after Indonesian businessmen Erick Thohir and Anindya Bakrie bought a majority stake at the club from previous owner Sumrith Thanakarnjanasuth of Thailand on Tuesday.
Both Thohir and Bakrie were minority shareholders at Oxford since 2018 and they had been planning to buy a majority stake at the club from Sumrith for some time. Tuesday’s deal saw the Indonesian businessmen assume a 51% stake of Oxford’s ownership, with Sumrith and Vietnam-based German entrepreneur Horst Geicke still retaining ownership of the Bulls albeit as minority shareholders.
Oxford’s other minority shareholder was fellow Thai businessman Pairoj Piempongsant and along with Sumrith and Horst he remains committed in investing and supporting the club.
“It is an honor for us to be majority shareholders,” Bakrie said, as quoted from BBC Sport, “It is not the easiest time, the world is going through some turbulence, but we are not new to Oxford United – we mean business long term.”
Both Thohir and Bakrie have set a number of goals for the club that would ensure a sustainable future both financially and environmentally, which includes promotion to the Championship, youth development, and construction of a brand new stadium to replace their previous home, the Kassam Stadium. The duo have also appointed Grant Ferguson as the new Chairman of the club’s Board of Directors.
Thohir and Bakrie’s takeover of Oxford represents the newest chapter in both men’s footballing portfolio. Thohir had previously served as owner of DC United (until 2018) and Inter Milan (until 2019) as well as owning a controlling stake at Liga 1 Indonesia club Persis Solo, while his brother Garibaldi Thohir held an important role at fellow Liga 1 side Dewa United and his nephew Gamma Thohir currently owns Liga 2 outfit Nusantara United.
Bakrie, on the other hand, had overseen the ownerships of Pelita Jaya (now Madura United) and Arema Cronous (now Arema FC) in the Indonesian top flight, whilst his family had also owned the now-defunct Belgian club CS Vise. Currently, the Bakrie family owns A-League Men giants Brisbane Roar, with the family assuming full control of the club since 2011.