AUSTRALIAN-owned Chinese investment firm Sky Jade Capital are in advanced talks to buy the Newcastle Jets, with a deal possible before the start of next season.
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Sky Jade Capital, who have offices in Melbourne, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Tianjin and Dongguan are understood to have agreed to a sale price with current owner Martin Lee and have submitted paperwork to Football Federation Australia.
The governing body carries out due diligence on prospective owners before approving the transfer of an A-League licence.
Lee, who bought the Jets for $5.55 million in 2016, has been trying to offload the Jets for the past 18 months after his business empire took a major hit.
After shutting down his Chinese club Ledman Shenzen, Lee knocked back an offer of $12 million for the Jets in 2019 and has since reduced his funding of the club.
Any sale is on the proviso that the Jets remain in Newcastle.
On its website, Sky Jade Capital describes itself as a "boutique investment firm" which manages investment vehicles including residential development, medical centres, large lot subdivision, farmland development, tourism developments, fin-tech, water technology and education.
The Jets appeared on course for a new owner in July after a Sydney businessman exchanged a term sheet for the sale of the club. However, that was as far as the negotiations progressed.
Jets chief executive Lawrie McKinna said he could not comment when contacted by the Newcastle Herald on Wednesday.
McKinna has previously held talks with groups from Russia, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, the UK and the US. However, it's understood the current negotiations are more advanced than previous suitors.
AAP reports: Perth Glory owner Tony Sage has hit back at Professional Footballers Australia, saying they won't have a leg to stand on if they try to sue him.
The PFA slammed Sage for his decision to stand down his squad after the clubs and the players' union couldn't agree to a new pay deal.
The A-League club owners want the salary cap to be reduced by 30 per cent to allow them to deal with the devastating financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But the PFA are unhappy with several aspects of the proposed collective bargaining agreement and described Sage's stand-down notice as an "unlawful action" and have threatened to pursue legal action.
Sage says they have no chance of winning.
"I'm not breaking contracts, all I'm doing is invoking the Fair Work Act under COVID," Sage said. "We've lost more than 70 per cent of our income. So legally they (the PFA) have got no leg to stand on."
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