Hold on to your arse Ram fans... it looks like we have an unexpected buyer

The Rams have been for sale for the better part of a year now... either officially or unofficially depending on whom you listen too. This sale has been greatly protracted by the Great Recession. Now we may have reached the end of the deal.

According to the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, the Rams have been sold to Shahid Khan. You may want to have a look at Bernie Miklasz's fine piece here for some solid details.

What we do know:

1. Khan is a 55 year old 1st generation immanent to the United States. His family immigrated to the St. Louis from Pakistan when he was a child. He attended the University of Illinois, Champagne/Urbana where he earned an engineering degree.
2. He is said to regard St. Louis as his hometown, and is purportedly an enthusiastic Ram fan who has attended games in the Edward Jones dome.
   
3. Khan is expected to purchase the 60% owned by Chip Rosenbloom and Lucia Rodriguez.
4. Khan is purportedly prepared to purchase Kroenke's 40% should he activate the poison pill clause in his ownership agreement.
   
5. Khan is the only buyer. He has no partners. He will be the sole owner at the end of the day, if he is approved.
   
6. The total value of the team has been placed between $725 and $750 million
7. Khan is the president and owner Urbana Illinois based Flex-N-Gate Corporation (FNG).
8. Flex-N-Gate is in the auto parts business, with an emphasis on heavy work truck parts and components.
9. According to Forbes, FNG is the 229th largest company in the United states with an estimated global revenue stream of approximately $2.14B.
   
10. Flex-N-Gate has approximately 10k employees at 57 facilities in 5 countries.
    
11. Khan has apparently had some tax issues. Between 1999-2003, Khan and his wife Ann were investigated for allegedly sheltering $250M from the IRS. This was allegedly settled when his wife Ann paid $68m in back-taxes to the IRS. Khan stated that he would pursue litigation to obtain a refund of this cash.
12. According to the associated press, Khan is committed to keeping the team in St. Louis. He has allegedly stated that he entered his bid to own a team in his hometown and his hometown only.
    

What we do not know:

1. Has Khan purchased the 40% share owned by Enos Stanley Kroenke?
2. Has he reached an accommodation with Silent Stan?
3. Is Stan planning to use his right of first refusal?
4. Will the owners waive the cross-ownership clause for Silent Stan?
   
5. Will 75% of the NFL owners vote him into the club?

This is going to be very interesting to watch. To the best of my knowledge, Mr. Khan is of East Indian extraction. To the best of my knowledge, there has never been a non-white owner of non-European extraction. The NFL Owners' club is a very elitist and clickish group. However, they have not blocked the acquisition of a team often. I will have to look for the last precedent.

For a 30 year Ram fan who has been following this process every day, closely, this outcome is nothing short of a shocker. Never once in all the pieces I read was the name Shahid Khan ever mentioned. He completely evaded our Radar net. He was nowhere on the scope. If these reports are accurate, Khan abruptly materialized out of thin air to snatch the team when nobody expected it.

Perhaps I speak out of turn, and out of school, but I suspect Mr. Khan may have some difficulties with the owners, whether real or contrived. I suspect he may have to negotiate a deal to get into this exclusive club. Methinks we will find out exactly what the NFL wants more: A team in St. Louis or a team in Los Angeles?