Brentford owner buys Spanish 3rd-tier club Merida

LONDON (AP) — The owner of Premier League club Brentford has completed the acquisition of Spanish third-tier team Merida.

Brentford said Tuesday its holding company, Best Intentions Analytics, has bought all the shares of Merida, which was only founded 12 years ago.

The team in the western Spain region of Extremadura is in contention for promotion to the second division.

Brentford is owned by Matthew Benham, a former hedge fund manager who developed statistical models for betting on soccer, and has built a reputation as a smartly run, data-driven club that rose into the Premier League in 2021.

Benham previously owned Danish club Midtjylland in an early example of multi-club ownership networks that have rapidly expanded in the soccer industry, but he sold his majority share in 2023.

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