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Portsmouth out of administration

"The sale has been completed to a new company principally owned by (Hong Kong businessman) Balram Chainrai and (his business partner) Levi Kushnir," said administrator Andrew Andronikou, a partner in the firm of UHY Hacker Young.

"The football club has exited administration and been freed from the shackles of its past. They (new owners) have taken on the liabilities of the CVA (Company Voluntary Arrangement)."

The administrators issued a statement on the club's website late on Saturday confirming the sale a day after Portsmouth had warned they could go into liquidation.

It said the administrators "are pleased to announce that negotiations between the various parties concerning the sale of the club have now been satisfactorily concluded.

"Accordingly, the club has now been formally sold by the Joint Administrators, Messrs UHY Hacker Young, and will continue to trade outside of Administration."

"Contrary to some reports I fully intended to sign the deal on Friday and had it not been changed at the last minute I would have," former owner Gaydamak said on Saturday.

"I hope this draws to an end the unfortunate uncertainty surrounding the club. I wish everyone involved in the club well for the future," he added.

Portsmouth's administrators acknowledged the part Gaydamak had played in helping the club to survive.

"The Administrators would like to thank Mr Gaydamak for his cooperation and assistance in securing the future of the club and acknowledges that he has played an integral part in delivering its survival," their statement added.

The south-coast club said a deal to exit administration had been agreed by the new owners, the administrators, the Football League and the creditors but was then made "impossible to complete" by Gaydamak.