Northampton agree deal with Pato-led consortium

Northampton Town have confirmed they have reached agreement with a consortium including former AC Milan, Chelsea and Brazil forward Alexandre Pato over a "proposed shareholding acquisition" in the League Two club.

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.

In a statement, the club said they expected to be "in a position to confirm completion of the process" next week.

"Football club transactions always have many moving parts and often take a little longer than you would hope, but we are thrilled to be moving forward," said Northampton chairman Kelvin Thomas.

Joao Xavier, founding partner at Sports Alpha Capital, added: "We are very happy to have reached formal agreements.

"Obviously obtaining IFR and EFL approvals was a big step, but this is also a very important milestone, and we look forward to closing next week."

Sports Alpha Capital (SAC) had been in discussions about taking over Colchester United earlier this year but decided to pull out of a potential deal following initial talks.

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

The size of SAC's proposed shareholding in the Cobblers has not been disclosed at this stage.

Pato, 37, 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 the 2010-11 season.