A consortium of South African executives led by the head of one of its largest gold-mining companies is understood to be in the advanced stages of finalising a £70m deal to take over the FA Cup holders, Portsmouth.

It is thought Greg James, the chief executive of Central Rand Gold, is being advised by the Israeli super agent Pini Zahavi and has been in detailed talks with the owner, Alexandre Gaydamak, who has been looking for buyer for months. The South African is said to be confident of completing a deal with Devondale Investments, the Gaydamak holding company, and the process of due diligence is about to start.

The takeover, which includes provision for writing off the club's debt, put at £32m, does not involve the South African businessmen said to be interested in acquiring Newcastle United. James describes himself as a rugby union fan and lives in Switzerland, but he is likely to want a hands-on role at Fratton Park.

A second takeover in less than three years would be welcome at Portsmouth, a club who play in a decrepit stadium which houses just over 20,000 fans, woefully short of the break-even figure required to service their thumping wage bill, which has been claimed to be as high as 90% of turnover.

An up-to-date training facility would also be required and the future of the new manager Tony Adams would be called into question with Zahavi's old friend Avram Grant, the former Chelsea manager who began his career in England as technical director under Harry Redknapp at Fratton Park, an obvious candidate to return.