Pato consortium completes Northampton takeover

The takeover of Northampton Town by a consortium including former AC Milan, Chelsea and Brazil forward Alexandre Pato has been completed.

Sports Alpha Capital (SAC) had their proposed deal with the Cobblers approved by the Independent Football Regulator (IFR) and English Football League (EFL) earlier this month.

SAC will take a 70% shareholding in Northampton Town Ventures Limited (NTVL) - the company which owns the majority of shares in the League Two club.

Existing owners David Bower, Nigel Le Quesne and Kelvin Thomas will collectively retain a 30% shareholding.

Northampton confirmed the deal would leave them debt-free after announcing a pre-tax loss of just under £3m in April 2026.

The takeover will see Thomas step down as chairman after more than a decade in the role, though he - along with Bower and Le Quesne - will remain as shareholders and directors.

Thomas - who headed the takeover of the Cobblers when they faced a winding-up petition in 2015 - said it had been "an enormous privilege" to lead the club.

SAC's Joao Xavier and Tim Chamberlain will become co-chairmen, with Pato set to join the board as a director.

Chief executive officer James Whiting and supporters' representative Tom Cliffe will also remain on the board, but Jim Rosenthal and Mike Wailing will step down from the board and become associate directors.

In a joint statement, Xavier and Chamberlain said they were "extremely proud to become custodians of a club with such a rich history, passionate supporter base and important place within its community".

"We have ambitious plans for Northampton Town, but ambition must go hand in hand with sustainability and an understanding of what the club means to the people of Northampton and Northamptonshire," the statement added.

"We want the club to continue to be a source of pride within its community and will work closely with the Community Trust, supporters, staff, partners and local stakeholders to ensure that relationship continues to grow.

"We are looking forward to spending much more time in Northampton, listening to supporters and working together to help the club realise its potential both on and off the pitch.

"This is the beginning of a long-term commitment from Sports Alpha Capital to Northampton Town Football Club, and we are incredibly excited about the journey ahead."

Xavier and Chamberlain said that further details of their vision for the club would follow.

Pato was named by SAC, external as one of its investors, along with Gemcorp Capital, a London-based independent investment management firm.

Pato and his fellow investors attended Northampton's 1-0 win over Newport County on 5 September.

The 37-year-old retired from playing last year. He is best known for his five-and-a-half-year spell at AC Milan where he scored 63 goals in 150 matches and won the Serie A title in 2010-11.

Sports Alpha Capital was previously in discussions about taking over Colchester United earlier this year but decided to pull out of a potential deal following initial talks.

The Cobblers suffered relegation to the fourth tier last season, finishing bottom of the League One table, and appointed Chris Hogg as their manager in May.

They brought in 13 players during the summer transfer window, including striker Matty Warhurst from Manchester City.

This feels like a significant moment in the club's history.

A majority takeover by a consortium that appear to have serious capital behind them. This is evident in the club now being 'debt free', a position any club in the country would be envious of.

The debt at the last set of accounts was over £13.5m and is sure to grown prior to today's takeover. That underlines the scale of investment.

There are however still important questions still to be asked.

What is SAC's vision for the club? Just how much finance will be pumped in? How does it improve the footballing side of things in the short to medium term with the Cobblers hovering just outside the League Two relegation zone?

All of these questions require answers.

But for now there is an excitement amongst the fanbase around what this could mean for Northampton Town moving forward.