Billionaire from Kazakhstan completes Wycombe Wanderers takeover
Mikheil Lomtadze has bought a 90 per cent stake in the football club
Last updated 5th May 2024
Wycombe Wanderers have been taken over by Kazakhstan billionaire Mikheil Lomtadze.
His company has bought a 90% stake in the club, who finished 10th in League One this season.
Previous owner, American businessman Rob Couhig ((Pron: Coo-ig)) will remain chairman of the club during a transition period.
Wycombe Wanderers statement
The club is delighted to announce that – following clearance from the EFL – Mikheil Lomtadze, Eduard Vyshnyakov and Dan Rice have joined the Board of Directors of Wycombe Wanderers Football Club.
At a meeting of the Board of Directors of Wycombe Wanderers, it was announced that the ownership of Feliciana EFL Ltd – which owns 90% of Wycombe Wanderers Football Club - had been transferred from Feliciana EFL LLC to Blue Ocean Partners II Limited, owned by Mikheil Lomtadze.
Mikheil is a technology investor and entrepreneur, who founded Kaspi.kz, the leading technology company in Central Asia with a mission to improve people’s lives by developing innovative mobile products and services. He currently serves as Chief Executive Officer and is an executive director of the company. Mikheil holds an MBA degree from Harvard Business School. He is a member of Harvard Business School’s Middle East & North Africa Advisory Board.
Rob Couhig commented:
“I am excited for the future of Wycombe Wanderers. Last year, I announced that I had begun looking at a possible succession plan for our ownership. Since then, I met with a significant number of well qualified people. Last fall, Mikheil and I met and decided to explore his potential role with the club. It was apparent from that first meeting that Mikheil and I shared similar values of speaking directly and honestly with each other.
"I came to understand that his goals for the Club were similar to mine. Important to me, although often separated by a 12 hour time difference, we became friends. The logical conclusion to those discussions was culminated today with the transfer of Feliciana EFL Limited to his company.
“The Board of Wycombe Wanderers Football Club will have three new directors, Mikheil, Eduard Vyshnyakov, and Daniel Rice. The Board has asked me to convey its and the Wanderers family’s appreciation for the great work that Missy Couhig and Pete Couhig have done for the Club and community since June 2019.
"As for me, Mikheil has asked and I have agreed to continue as Chairman during the transition of ownership. Please join me in welcoming Mikheil, Eduard and Dan to the Club.”
"We aim to re-open and build a leading high-performance academy which will become an essential part of our long-term strategy of developing a club that consistently performs at the top level."
Mikheil Lomtadze commented:
“I am very grateful to Rob and deeply honoured by the opportunity to take the club forward and to be part of Wycombe Wanderers’ successful future. You rarely meet people when an immediate friendship is developed from the very first conversation. Meeting Rob in the fall of last year was one of such moments in my life.
"I would like to thank Rob for his friendship and trust, and we are very happy that he has agreed to stay as the Chairman of the Board of Directors to continue playing an important role in the Club and help with the smooth transition. I want to also recognise Missy and Pete Couhig’s contributions and thank them for all their dedication to the club alongside with Rob.
“To the Wycombe fans, I do not and will not take lightly the responsibility for the Club in front of its fans, staff and players. Our goal is to achieve long-term success both on and off the pitch whilst building a financially sustainable club. The football world is evolving very fast and our priority will be to integrate data analytics and technology to elevate the Club’s performance to new levels. I am also a strong believer in youth development and it will be fundamental to the Club’s vision.
"We aim to re-open and build a leading high-performance academy which will become an essential part of our long-term strategy of developing a club that consistently performs at the top level. We are looking forward to working with the Wycombe Wanderers Supporters’ Trust as we together take the club into its next chapter. I’m excited to get started and I look forward to seeing everyone down at Adams Park for the start of the 2024/25 season.”