Sport Republic, an investment firm in the sports and entertainment industry, completed the acquisition of an 80% stake in Southampton Football Club, an English professional football club, from Gao family for $136m. “Today we welcome a new beginning with a new ownership group. We have found partners with ambition for the future, but with a clear understanding of what Southampton stands for and the direction we must go in now. The strategy is to push forward with the plans we have had in place over the last two years, but with their support we can now do this with a renewed focus and speed. Continuity, stability, and clarity of the way forward are equally as important as the new initiatives and ideas we can now bring to the club," Martin Semmens, Southampton FC CEO.