Derby County is pleased to announce that the Club’s Chairman, Mel Morris, has successfully completed the purchase of the club from North American Derby Partners LP for an undisclosed sum.

Derby County is pleased to announce that the Club’s Chairman, Mel Morris, has successfully completed the purchase of the club from North American Derby Partners LP for an undisclosed sum.

Mel re-invested in the club in May 2014, taking a 22% holding prior to the disappointment of the play-off final against QPR. The acquisition process began in May 2015 when Mel assumed the position as Club Chairman.





Mel, who is a life-long Rams fan, is widely regarded as one of Derby’s most successful businessmen. On becoming the sole owner of the club, Mel said: “Whilst I firmly believe that the club’s ownership is very much a tertiary concern to most fans, I hope together we can help steer this club back into a sustainable place in the Premier League.





“We have many of the key components in place, but I am conscious that we must all commit our total support in pursuit of this goal, which I know is shared by all of us, as fans of this great football club.”





“I wish to pay tribute to the North American Ownership group, who collectively provided the finance and leadership stability the club needed following the traumatic times which followed the 2007/08 season in the Premier League.





“They have been terrific to work with and I am sure they will continue to follow the Rams well into the future.”





No changes are planned in the club’s executive team who will continue to be managed by Sam Rush as Chief Executive Officer. A new board of directors will be announced in due course.





Later this month, the club plans to invite a number of fans to meet with Mel and Sam, together with the executive and coaching teams, to hear more about the club’s vision and plans for the current season and beyond.





Note:





North American Derby Partners LP includes some of the leading sports team investors in North America, namely:

Tom Ricketts - Managing Partner of the Chicago Cubs baseball team

W. Brett Wilson - Investor of the Nashville Predators NHL hockey team

Jeff Mallett - Former Yahoo! president, current co-owner of the Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club and is also a Principle Partner of the world champion San Francisco Giants Baseball team

Bill Luby - Managing Partner of Seaport Capital, which was the former owner of eight different minor league baseball teams

Tom Vertin - Investor of the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves

Andy Appleby - Chairman and CEO of General Sports and former Chairman of the Derby County Football Club.

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