‘Sources tell us’ – Reliable journalist claims West Brom in talks over potential takeover deal
West Brom journalist Chris Lepkowski has said that the club is in talks with at least two groups over a potential takeover.
Lepkowski was talking on the latest episode of the Liquidator podcast, which has been doing some excellent work over recent weeks with regards to the current owners.
“We have to be careful here as we don’t want to break any confidences,” host Adrian Goldberg said.
“It is our understanding from people who we know and trust, that there have been overseas consortia who have been in discussions with West Bromwich Albion about buying the club.”
“That’s correct,” said Lepkowski, “at least two is my understanding and I suspect there are more. But there have certainly been two. And it explains why there has been radio silence in recent weeks.
“This does suggest the owners are willing to discuss an exit strategy that would see new owners come in.”
Takeovers take time
There have been a number of questions thrown up about the current West Brom ownership as the club continues to struggle on the pitch.
One big topic over the past couple of weeks was whether Guochuan Lai was still the owner of West Brom.
Financial data gathering company Orbis said that Ms Yasha Ge is in control, according to the Express & Star.
That seems to be false and it does seem that Lai is still the owner, but for how long?
One thing we do know is that football takeovers take time. It’s not a straightforward purchase with many different elements that have to be settled before anything can happen.
Just look at Newcastle and how long Mike Ashley has been trying to get a sale through.
Putting aside any regulatory issues, one big thing is valuation. West Brom are worth a lot more in the Premier League than they are in the Championship and that makes a current valuation really tricky.
If West Brom were to survive in the Premier League it’s a different issue.
It all comes down to Lai’s appetite to gamble and how badly he wants to get out – but it could still potentially happen this season.
In other West Brom news, ‘I managed to get some documents’ – Joseph Masi delivers major update on WBA ownership issue