Ex-Wycombe owner Couhig agrees Reading takeover

Former Wycombe Wanderers owner Rob Couhig has finalised an agreement to buy Reading, ending the controversial reign of previous owner Dai Yongge.

The transaction includes Yongge's shares of the Royals, the Select Car Leasing Stadium and Bearwood training ground.

Couhig's imminent arrival will bring to an end a tumultuous period under Yongge, who became a majority shareholder of the club in 2017.

Following the agreement the English Football League (EFL) has extended its deadline for Yongge to divest his shareholding until its next board meeting on Thursday, 8 May.

In a statement, the League One club said that they were "pleased to announce the sale in principle of the club" to Couhig's Redwood Holdings Limited.

"The formal completion of the transaction is subject to final legal technicalities but is fully expected to be completed shortly," the club said., external

Reading were docked six points for financial issues last season as they finished 17th in League One.

Those financial difficulties also saw the club's women's side - a Women's Super League outfit as recently as May 2023 - withdraw from the Championship in June, and they now compete in the fifth tier.

In March, Yongge unsuccessfully tried to secure an injunction against Couhig as he claimed the American businessman was blocking his attempts to sell the club, something that Couhig denied.

At that hearing it emerged that Yongge had been given a deadline to sell the club after being disqualified under the EFL's owners' and directors' test.

Throughout that time the Royals had been in a period of exclusivity with another unnamed potential buyer, but on 9 April they announced that period had elapsed and an "alternative bidder" was being spoken with.

Couhig had already attempted to buy Reading but the previous deal fell through in September 2024 after a breakdown in negotiations.

Yongge and sister Dai Xiu Li completed their takeover of Reading in May 2017 just days before the club lost the Championship play-off final on penalties to Huddersfield Town.

That proved to be the high point of their time in charge of the Royals.

A seventh-placed finish in 2020-21 was Reading's only top-half league finish under Yongge as financial problems began to bite.

They were first deducted six points by the EFL for breaching profit and sustainability rules in November 2021.

A further six-point penalty followed in April 2023 for failing to comply with the terms of an agreed business plan for the previous breach, contributing to their relegation from the Championship at the end of that season.

The club were placed under a series of transfer embargoes, and were deducted a further six points last season for a combination of failing to pay wages and a tax bill on time.

In total, Reading were deducted 18 points under Yongge's ownership.

Fans carried out a series of protests last season, including throwing tennis balls on to the pitch at matches, and their home game against Port Vale in January 2024 was abandoned after hundreds of supporters invaded the pitch.

The club's financial problems saw Yongge make cuts and put the club up for sale, which also impacted the women's side.

In announcing the women's team's withdrawal from the second tier, Reading said that maintaining the club's status was "just not possible without significant owner funding".

Couhig is the former owner of Reading's rivals Wycombe Wanderers and US side New Orleans Storm.

The 75-year-old is an American lawyer who has been involved in a vast number of businesses across fields such as real estate, film, disaster recovery, logistics and pharmaceuticals.

Couhig has also been involved in politics as a Republican campaign manager for former State representatives Garey Forster and Sam LeBlanc, and served as a campaign co-ordinator for US Representative Bob Livingston.

He also twice stood unsuccessfully for election as mayor of New Orleans.

In March 2024, Reading announced that they were in discussions with Couhig's former club Wycombe to purchase their Bearwood Park training facility.

That deal ultimately came to nothing, with Wycombe instead moving their training base to Harlington, west London.

During Couhig's time with Wycombe, the Chairboys were promoted to the second tier of English football for the first time in their history in 2020, although their stay in the Championship lasted only one season.

BBC Radio Berkshire's Reading commentator Tim Dellor

At last! Reading fans have got through the past couple of years of turbulence and after a couple of aborted landings, have finally touched down on the runway, in sunnier climes.

The nightmare that has been the Dai Yongge era is behind them and now there is a bit more certainty about what the future has in store.

Winding-up petitions, administration, unpaid wages and points deductions should be a thing of the past.

It will take years for the club to fully recover from the impact of the Chinese businessman, whose tenure has seen the men’s team relegated to League One, a lengthy transfer embargo imposed, the complete dismantling of the women’s team following relegation from the Championship, and a long list of other significant issues.

However, let’s celebrate the heroes in this sorry tale.

The managers in charge, staff and current squad have been dignified and professional throughout and have stuck to their task admirably.

Above all the fans, some of whom were noisily involved in a pitch invasion during a game last season, and some of whom more quietly supported from the sidelines.

Many went on protest marches, threw tennis balls, dressed up as clowns, stood up and chanted after 18 minutes of each game (representing the number of points docked under Yongge’s tenure) or bombarded social media with passionate views and suggestions. Reading got angry, and it worked.

Yongge is no longer owner and everyone connected to the club will be celebrating that.

For Reading fans a great weight has been lifted. The gloom has given way to sunshine.