ANINDYA Bakrie says it is an honour to take a controlling stake of Oxford United.

The Indonesian business figure has finalised a deal which sees him and Erick Thohir take a 51 per cent stake in the U’s.

READ MORE: Oxford United announce Anindya Bakrie and Erick Thohir as new owners

Speaking after the deal was formally announced earlier today, Bakrie said: “It’s an honour for us to be majority shareholders, it’s clear that we’re not from here and that we’re from Indonesia.

“To be given the opportunity to be a part of the Oxford community is certainly really an honour.

“It is not the easiest time. The world is going through some turbulence, whether that’s inflation, energy crisis, post-Covid, Russia and Ukraine, but we are not new to Oxford United.

“This means a lot to us because we can build the club and the community from the ground up, from here on.

“We want to thank our shareholders, friends from Vietnam and Thailand, who have done a great job and given us the opportunity.

“For now, this is a new chapter.”

Meanwhile, Grant Ferguson will become chairman after being formally appointed to the board in July.

He had been working with the club behind the scenes for several months prior to that. 

Ferguson, who was on the board at Inter Milan from 2014 to 2017, when Thohir owned the club, said: “It doesn’t feel any different. In the club’s perspective, it’s continuing our journey we started five or six months ago.

“The direction we’ve been pursuing is in anticipation of the shareholding happening and that’s taken longer than any of us would have liked.

“Having the change of shareholders and knowing where the control lies makes things a whole lot easier.”