Milan Mandarić
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Milan Mandarić (Serbian: Милан Мандарић) is a Serbian-American business tycoon who has owned a string of successful businesses and football (soccer) clubs including Portsmouth F.C.. He was born in Croatia, in [[1938] [citation needed] and grew up in the Serbian city of Novi Sad, Vojvodina.
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[edit] Business activities
[edit] Yugoslavia and Serbia
He took control of his father's machine shop aged 21, and by age 26 had turned it into the largest business in the country. At the time, Yugoslavia was a communist country, but a relatively free one. Private enterprise was encouraged - up to a point. Mandaric, now mass-producing car spares for the whole country and for overseas, became too successful and in the government's eyes went overnight from 'Hero' to 'Capitalist Traitor'.
[edit] United States of America
In 1969, worried by the government's view of his business, he left Serbia and settled in the United States. He had to leave most of his fortune behind, and got a job for an American computer component manufacturer in California. When two of the senior managers left to start their own firm Mandaric was invited to be their third partner. The firm was successful, but disagreements over manufacturing processes led to Mandaric leaving to form his own company, Lika Corporation, in 1971. In 1976, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States. By 1976 Lika Corp. was the largest manufacturer of computer components in the USA, and Mandaric was pioneering the boom that led to the creation of California's Silicon Valley. He sold the company to the Tandy Corporation in 1980 and set up a new company, Sanmina, which developed high-tech telecoms products.
In 1989 he acquired a struggling competitor and merged it with Sanmina. He also began branching out into investment companies such as Behrman Capital. Mandaric also became owner of the St. Louis Storm, a Major Soccer League franchise that ceased operations in 1992 when the MSL also folded.
Following the collapse of communism in Yugoslavia, and then the break-up of the state, Mandaric has taken advantage of the new states' free markets to set-up and buy businesses in his homeland, such as Razvojna Banka, which was formerly state owned.
[edit] Football
[edit] United States of America
Around the same time he had begun using his money to invest in football, his passion since childhood (as a young man he had played for Novi Sad). He set up firstly F.C. Lika, then San Jose Earthquakes which played in the USA's first professional league. George Best had played for the latter team, and the two men became friends.
[edit] Europe
Sceptical about the future of the sport in the USA, Mandaric looked to European football, owning first Belgian club Standard Liège, then French team OGC Nice.
[edit] Portsmouth
In 1998 he sold Nice and took over English club Portsmouth F.C., to whom he had been introduced by ex-player Preki. George Best was often seen watching Portsmouth with Mandaric.
Despite Mandaric's patronage the club still survives in its crumbling stadium. Numerous bizarre delays for a planned new stadium, and three successive battles against relegation from the Premiership, have recently seen the fans begin to question the club's ambition [citation needed]. In January 2006 it was announced that Mandaric has sold a 50% stake in the club to French businessman Alexandre Gaydamak. [1] After the club's unlikely survival Mandarić sold his remaining half of Portsmouth to Gaydamak but remained at the club as a figurehead in his role as non-executive chairman.
He resigned as chairman of Portsmouth on 21 September 2006 and he took over the Slovenian First Division side NK Koper.
[edit] Leicester City
On 1 November he made a bid for East Midlands club Leicester City; believed to be in the region of £25m. He had wanted to remain outside of football for a longer period, however he "had to accelerate takeover plans" because of bids for the club by at least two other parties. On November 18 2006 Leicester City accepted his approach to takeover the club at a extraordinary general meeting.[2]
Mandaric watched his first game at the Walkers Stadium on Saturday 2 December, where he witnessed a 4-1 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday. Mandaric is set to attend the home fixture against Barnsley on 15 December, and there are strong rumours that an announcement will be made about his proposed takeover deal in front of a sell out crowd[citation needed].
