The businessman at the center of the £150m takeover attempt at Bournemouth is NHL franchise owner Bill Foley

The Las Vegas businessman at the center of a £150million takeover attempt at Bournemouth first revealed by Sportsmail is NHL franchise owner Bill Foley.

We exclusively reported on Thursday afternoon that the Premier League club were in talks with a US-based consortium being led by a businessman with a background in ice hockey and was based out of Las Vegas.

And that individual is understood to be Foley, owner of NHL team the Las Vegas Golden Knights.

Foley is chairman of Fidelity National Financial, one of the largest insurance companies in the US, and is said to be worth $1.2 billion.

However, he is most known for his involvement with the ice hockey franchise the Golden Knights.

Sources with knowledge of the proposed deal say that Bournemouth’s Russian-born owner Maxim Demin is giving serious consideration to selling.

The owner, who has British citizenship, is understood to have appointed US-based firm Montminy & Co to identify potential buyers or investors.

It has been indicated to Sportsmail that Demin values ​​the club in excess of £150million.

Talks are believed to be underway and there has been a growing sense around the club in recent months that Russian owner Demin is prepared to sell.

If a deal goes through, half the Premier League would have American owners.

Most recently, Chelsea were purchased from long time owner Roman Abramovich by billionaire businessman Todd Boehly and investment company Clearlake Capital in a deal that was worth £4.25 billion.

Arsenal, Aston Villa, Crystal Palace, Fulham, Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester City also have Americans who have a majority or minority shareholding.

In 2020, Demin considered an approach to buy the club by an Arab consortium involving members of the Abu Dhabi royal family.

At the time, the proposed deal collapsed over price because the group only wanted to pay £140 million while Demin wanted significantly more.

But the American group are said to be more willing to pay the sort of money that would be deemed enough to strike an ownership agreement, with Demin said to be ready to sell.

The Cherries regained their place in the Premier League at the end of last season, securing automatic promotion out of the Championship under Scott Parker – and in doing so increasing the market value of the club.

However, Bournemouth’s return to the top-flight has been overshadowed by the sacking of Parker just four games into the new season.

Demin and other senior Bournemouth executives had grown tired of Parker’s public digs at the club’s transfer policy over the summer. Parker’s dismissal was not linked to results.

Gary O’Neil has been appointed interim head coach and led the club to four points from a possible six since Parker’s departure.