One Direction star Louis Tomlinson has completed a takeover of English football club Doncaster Rovers, a spokesman for his co-owner said Thursday.
Tomlinson, 22, is a lifelong fan of his hometown club, which plays in England’s third flight, and turned out for their reserves in February, which he described as a “childhood dream.”
Now the boyband sensation has gone a step further by taking control of the northern English team alongside businessman John Ryan. “It’s done, the takeover is complete,” Ryan’s spokesman said, adding that more details would be revealed at a press conference later Thursday.
One Direction became global superstars after competing in television talent show “The X-Factor” in 2010.
They have sold 35 million records worldwide, with hit singles including “Best Song Ever” and “What Makes You Beautiful”.
Facebook is buying mobile messaging service WhatsApp for $19 billion in cash and stock, by far the company's largest acquisition and bigger than any that Google, Microsoft or Apple have ever done.
The world's biggest social networking company said Wednesday that it is paying $12 billion in Facebook stock and $4 billion in cash for WhatsApp. In addition, the app's founders and employees — 55 in all — will be granted restricted stock worth $3 billion that will vest over four years after the deal closes.
The deal translates to roughly 11 percent of Facebook's market value. In comparison, Google's biggest deal was its $12.5 billion purchase of Motorola Mobility, while Microsoft's largest was Skype at $8.5 billion. Apple, meanwhile, has never done a deal above $1 billion.
