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Billionaire Brighton owner Tony Bloom buys stake in Scottish soccer club Hearts
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Brighton and Hove Albion owner Anthony Bloom and his wife Linda in the stands just before kick off of the the English FA Cup semifinal between Manchester United and Brighton and Hove Albion at Wembley Stadium in London, Sunday, April 23, 2023 - photo by AP Photo/Alastair Grant
EDINBURGH, Scotland (AP) — Brighton soccer club’s billionaire owner Tony Bloom invested in Heart of Midlothian of the Scottish Premiership on Wednesday, aiming to revive another unheralded team. The former professional poker player is seen as one of the smartest investors in European soccer helping lift his hometown club Brighton and current Belgian champion Union Saint-Gilloise to unexpected success with data-driven research and management. Hearts said Bloom paid 9.86 million pounds ($13.4 million) for “a 29% stake in the club in non-voting shares.” The size of Bloom’s minority stake should be within the UEFA-set threshold to comply with rules designed to protect the integrity of European competitions when clubs in shared ownership both qualify.