Shahid Khan Trying to Buy the Rams

By Parvez Fatteh, Founder of http://sportingummah.com, sports@muslimobserver.com

Pakistani billionaire Shahid Khan continues in his efforts to purchase a controlling share of the National Football League’s St. Louis Rams. He first entered into an agreement to purchase 60% of the team in March of this year. But, there is now an attempt underway by the 40% owner of the team, Stan Kroenke, to buy the entire team. So, brother Shahid is waiting to see how things turn out.

Shahid Khan was born in Pakistan and moved to the United States when he was 16. He graduated from the University of Illinois School of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering with a BS in 1971. While in college he worked at Flex-N-Gate, a diversified auto parts maker that is based in Urbana, Illinois. And by 1980 he had earned enough money in his private venture, Bumper Works, to buy Flex-N-Gate, and the company has taken off since then under his stewardship. The company ranked No. 229 on Forbes’ list of America’s Biggest Private Companies, with an estimated $2 billion in revenue as of 2008, and 9,500 employees.

Khan has received numerous awards from the University of Illinois, including a Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1999 from the Department of Mechanical Science and Industrial Engineering, the Alumni Award for Distinguished Service in 2006 from the College of Engineering, and the Distinguished Service Award in 2005 from the University of Illinois Alumni Association.

But one of his passions is football, and he has frequently attended Rams home games over the years. Stan Kroenke is currently trying to buy the team out from under Khan. Current NFL rules prohibit one of their owners from owning teams in other sports, and Kroenke owns both the Denver Nuggets basketball team and Colorado Avalanche hockey team. So, Kroenke is trying to seek avenues such as having his wife buy the Rams, or divest the other two teams to his son Josh. So, Khan patiently waits on the sideline for his chance to achieve his football dreams.

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