Bill Foley Hibs bid: Club chiefs hold 'positive' SFA talks over billionaire investment and outline next steps

Hibs say they have held “positive” discussions with the Scottish Football Association on the prospect of American billionaire Bill Foley investing in the Easter Road club.

Foley, who is the current owner of Premier League side Bournemouth and holds a stake in French outfit Lorient through his Black Knight group, wants to become a minority shareholder of Hibs. However, Hibs require the approval of the SFA, with current regulations prohibiting individuals having a dual interest in a football club unless consent is given. Hibs director Ian Gordon and chief executive Ben Kensell attended a hearing at Hampden on Thursday morning and there are high hopes that the 78-year-old will be allowed to invest.

The statement from Hibs read: “Hibernian FC can confirm that the club met with the Scottish FA Board on Thursday 14 December, 2023 to discuss a minority investment proposal. The positive meeting saw Ian Gordon and Ben Kensell outline the proposal and discuss the benefits for Hibs and Scottish football moving forward. The club looks forward to the next stage of the process, which is submitting a formal request for the approval of duel interest dispensation against article 13. There will be no further comment at this time.”

Bill Foley is hoping to take a minority shareholding at Hibs.

Speaking about a potential tie-up with Hibs on Wednesday, Foley told TalkSport: “We're going through the process with the Scottish Premier League (sic) and the Scottish Football Association to ensure that we're doing things properly and that we're doing them in a way that they're happy with our participation. We're not going to be a controlling shareholder, we're going to be an investor but we certainly want to coordinate acquisition and disposition of players with Hibs and I know they can use the help.”