Ok by now you've probably seen the news that Sir John Madejski is close to securing an investment deal to provide extra money for the club. The statement can be found here.
There's been reports from the Daily Mail that the deal involves a Russian Tycoon Anton Zingarevich will buy 51% stake in the club with an option to buy the rest.
Zingarevich (can't we ever have an owner with an easy surname?) was educated in Reading before moving to New York so at least he'll know the town. The Mail reports also state that Brian has apparently met the new owners and has been assured that his job is safe, as is Nick Hammond's and Nigel Howe's positions.
It's a hell of a lot to take in and I'm reluctant to really voice an opinion on the issue until things are finalised.
However what we do know is that Sir John has wanted to hand over the purse strings for quite a while but that he's frequently said he'll only hand over to someone with deep pockets who has the best interests of the club at heart.
In the summer, Jon Keen wrote 'an open letter' to Sir John which posed some questions to anyone he was hoping to sell to. I recommend you give it a read here
This is a potentially very very exciting period for the club, however it's not without risks as for every Chelsea, Man City and Leicester, we've seen Portsmouth, Rushden & Diamonds, Gretna etc etc. The only comfort at this time is that the club is so close to Madejski's heart (who will remain as Chairman it seems) that he's unlikely to have made any decision without the club's best interests.
Feel free to leave your own thoughts and comments below and we'll have a full analysis and piece on the story as more news becomes available.