West Bromwich Albion are currently in the process of being taken over, and a finance expert has now shared a positive update based on what he’s heard is happening.
Who owns West Brom?
At the Hawthorns, Guochuan Lai is the club’s current owner, but with reports confirming that he is looking to sell his stake in the Championship club before the end of the calendar year, potential suitors will have been alerted that there is an attractive opportunity up for grabs.
According to The Telegraph’s John Percy, Carlos Corberan’s side first entered initial talks with parties from America and the Middle East regarding a takeover worth in the region of £50m last month, with the club under pressure to raise funds if they want to avoid a fire sale of some of their most prized assets in January.
The Baggies’ Managing Director, Mark Miles, has since confirmed the Albion Assembly Meeting that discussions are firmly underway with several prospective new owners, whilst revealing that the NDA’s are also now in place as he waits for further developments to occur.
West Brom takeover update
Speaking to West Brom News, Dr Daniel Plumley, who is a football finance expert, delivered a West Brom takeover update and revealed that negotiations appear to be moving quicker than expected.
“It seems to be [picking up pace]. When you get to that stage of NDAs, then you’re looking at people really being involved in due diligence and looking behind the scenes at the books in greater detail.
“That tends to be what happens, of course, we’re not privy to what exactly is going on, and part of the NDAs are there to cover that for good reason.
“You tend to find that when you get to that stage that there are talks being had and conversations being done, backgrounds checks being made, just because of the nature of what an NDA will cover.”
West Brom have made a really mixed start to the new campaign having won four, drawn four and lost three of their opening 11 games, meaning that they find themselves 11th in the table, and here is how things have played out so far:
Wins | Draws | Defeats |
|---|---|---|
Swansea City (3-2) | Leeds United (1-1) | Blackburn Rovers (2-1) |
Middlesbrough (4-2) | Bristol City (0-0) | Huddersfield Town (2-1) |
Preston North End (4-0) | Watford (2-2) | Birmingham City (3-1) |
Sheffield Wednesday (1-0) | Millwall (0-0) |
Should the Midlands outfit be able to receive their £50m from whoever is next to take to the helm in the hierarchy, Corberan is likely to be backed a lot more financially and he should be able to be more competitive in the market when fighting for his transfer targets.
Baggies supporters are no doubt all hoping that promotion can be achieved as soon as possible, and if this takeover goes through before the start of next year, there’s no reason why the second half of the season can’t mark the beginning of an exciting new chapter ahead.
