CHERRIES chairman Bill Foley has opened talks to buy an initial minority stake in Scottish Premiership outfit Hibernian.

However, Foley will only be able to invest in the Edinburgh outfit if a ban from the Scottish Football Association blocking anyone who owns at least 25 per cent of another European club from purchasing shares in Scottish teams is lifted.

At the start of October it was announced that Black Knight had been named as preferred bidders for an expansion franchise in the A-League.

Although the league is predominantly based in Australia, Foley and co. have been awarded the rights to a franchise in Auckland, New Zealand.

Aside from owning Cherries in its entirety, Black Knight owns a minority share in Ligue 1 outfit FC Lorient.

Through the similarly named but separate Black Knight Sports and Entertainment (BKSE), Foley owns three franchises in America.

All three are based in the US state of Nevada, with his flagship franchise, the Vegas Golden Knights, lifting the Stanley Cup for the first time this year after just six seasons of existence.

BKSE also own a feeder hockey team, the Henderson Silver Knights, as well as indoor football side Vegas Knight Hawks.

Coincidentally, Cherries played Hibs in a pre-season friendly out in Marbella this summer, running out 4-0 winners.