St Johnstone are deep in talks with a prospective American buyer, Courier Sport can reveal.
Detailed negotiations with Perth club owner, Geoff Brown, are progressing well – so much so that the Scottish Football Association has now been notified about the potential for foreign investment at McDiarmid Park.
An agreement over a sale could even be reached before the end of the season.
The US investor, who has a legal background, was a guest of Saints earlier this month and, along with an associate, attended the Premiership matches against Ross County and Hearts during a week-long stay in Scotland.
Having been involved in talks for several months before then, he liked what he saw and discussions have advanced significantly since the trip.
Brown, 80, has owned Saints for the best part of four decades.
He bought the club in 1986 and changed the course of its history with a move from Muirton Park to McDiarmid three years later.
He put Saints on the market just over a year ago, around the same time as son, Steve, stood down as chairman.
Financially, the club is in rude health, even taking into account a recent seven-figure annual loss.
McDiarmid Park sits on 22 acres of land and there are millions in the bank.
Brown has pledged that the money made from a sale will go to the Saints Community Trust to build a sports hub.
Further on than any other bid
The number of parties interested in a takeover has run into double figures but no others have got anywhere near to this stage.
Brown has previously admitted that the vast amount of prime site land at McDiarmid has proved to be problematic in terms of finding a suitable buyer.
For any deal to get completed, legal guarantees would be put in place on that front.
Saints will also be provided with proof of funding that underpins the bid and the future running of the club.
It is understood the prospective buyer assessed the landscape in leagues across England and Europe before setting his sights on St Johnstone.
A deal being completed over the next few months is looking increasingly possible, meaning Saints could be foreign-owned for the first time in their 140-year history.
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