In a statement to the Stock Exchange, Lerner's Reform Acquisitions Ltd said their holding had reached 85.50 percent, up from just under 60 percent when former chairman Doug Ellis agreed to sell his holding last month.

If Lerner acquires 90 percent of the listed stock, he can compel remaining shareholders to sell to him and take the club private.

Lerner is the owner of American Football outfit the Cleveland Browns. His bid for Villa, which values the club at 62.6 million pounds (118 million dollars), came shortly after the appointment of Martin O'Neill as manager of the Birmingham club.

The former Celtic boss, who has masterminded Villa's best start to a season in seven years, will now be keen to learn how much money Lerner will make available for new players.

Prior to Tuesday's announcement, Lerner revealed he had been tracking developments at Villa Park for more than three years before launching his bid.

"Aston Villa was a club I had already thought about for a long time as I became more familiar with the Premier League over the last three or four years," Lerner told the BBC.

"I just became more and more focused, the people I was working with in London had advised I continue to stay focused and that it (Villa) may be available, Mr Ellis may be of a mind to sell it and it kind of built on itself.

"It wasn't a lifelong thing. It would be dishonest and disingenuous for me to suggest it was. It seemed like an opportunity to make a little bit of a difference."

Lerner admits his job has been made easier by the the honeymoon start engineered by O'Neill, whose appointment was Ellis's last act as chairman.

"Martin O'Neill is great," Lerner said. "I think he's got the record, the history and the makings for a steady long-term commitment to Villa. That's the plan."