Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has explained how Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and Juan Sartori can benefit from their increased stake in Sunderland.
The two businessmen now own 51 and 30 per cent stake in the club following an announcement earlier this week.
This move has seen Charlie Methven’s five per cent stake purchased directly and Stewart Donald’s reduced to 19 per cent.
This now gives Louis-Dreyfus greater control over the money that gets invested into the Black Cats.
The club’s shareholders will be making pro-rata financial contributions based on their percentage control.
Maguire believes that this decision by Louis-Dreyfus will now give him much greater power on what decisions get made by the club.
He compared it to a coalition government, citing that the majority shareholder will still need to make compromises with his ownership partners, but that he will still have the greatest sway in any discussions over the future of Sunderland.
"He was the biggest shareholder, now the biggest shareholder is not the same as the majority,” said Maguire, via Sunderland Echo.
“You’ve got to get to 51% where you can now effectively dictate things far more directly.
“If you’ve got 51% of the shares you are now in a position to determine who will direct the club again, whereas with 41% he had to get Sartori onboard.
“Nobody quite knows what Sartori’s motives are in relation to Sunderland.
“The 51% does give you voting power in respect to key decisions. It’s a bit like having a coalition government where you have to make compromises.
“It allows him to have greater control in terms of the strategy of the club with regards to the funding.”
The news of this announcement came amid speculation linking a cryptocurrency firm, known as The Fans Together, with buying shares of the club.
Sunderland are now preparing for life in the Championship, with their opening game of the season now set to be against Coventry City on July 31.
The Verdict
The biggest relief out of this development will be that it has staved off the cryptocurrency group from gaining shares of the club.
That would have been an unwanted twist in the tale of the ownership situation at Sunderland, which has had a rocky few years lately as it is.
Having a majority share in the club will now give Louis-Dreyfus a decent level of control, but he will still need to work closely with the other ownership partners for the benefit of the club.
Having this sorted out going into the summer transfer window will also be a boost as it should avoid any unnecessary distractions for the hierarchy of the club.