West Brom: New Hawthorns takeover uncertainty unhelpful as Chris Farnell sends Guochuan Lai ‘signed letter’
The fresh West Brom takeover uncertainty is unhelpful after it has emerged Chris Farnell has sent Guochuan Lai a signed letter with a new proposal.
BBC Sport reported on its website on Monday (29 January) the Cheshire-based businessman is making a renewed attempt to buy a minority stake in the Baggies after previously appearing to have fallen behind Shilen Patel in the running.
The news outlet said it has seen the letter signed by Farnell to Albion’s controlling shareholder, suggesting proof of funds totalling £110million can be provided.
It added that the cash will cover the £28million plus associated costs owed to MSD Holdings, provide £15million to cover immediate running costs, plus £5million to purchase a 9.5 per cent stake in the club as well as provide proof of future funding to the EFL.
The news comes as quite a twist to proceedings after Farnell and local businessman Alex Hearn were believed to be in talks for a number of months about buying the club.
But after American entrepreneur Patel emerged on the scene, the duo’s bid was dealt a major blow when it was revealed that he had received the backing of MSD Holdings, the Baggies’ largest creditor.
This latest development could be met with great disappointment by the Albion fans after the Daily Mail reported on Sunday (28 January) that the club were edging closer to a takeover, with the Florida businessman leading the race to take control at the Hawthorns.
With Farnell and Hearn eyeing a deal to take on a minority stake, that could completely change the dynamic of the potential takeover as it creates more questions than answers.
There have also been some questions raised about Farnell and his intentions after his previous attempts to buy Burnley and Charlton Athletic in 2020 were unsuccessful.
The move to buy the South London club was turned down by the EFL because three people involved in the proposed purchase were subject to a disqualifying condition.
Speaking on The Price of Football podcast on 18 January, Kieran Maguire warned that the Addicks’ fans won’t have many nice things to say about Farnell.
“There are three potential bidders, one of which appears to be the favourite,” said the football finance expert. “Then you go ‘well, this is two steps forward and one step back’. It involves a guy called Chris Farnell. Talk to Charlton fans I believe about Chris Farnell, they don’t have the greatest of praise of him.
“He’s certainly been involved, he’s a lawyer based I think in Altrincham, Manchester way. He’s also involved with the company called Warmfront Holdings, which has lent money to West Bromwich Albion at 5 per cent interest a month. They are a local heating company, but at least they’re interested.”
Given that this news has only just come out, there is no way of knowing what Lai has made of the latest proposal brought to him.
But after years of mismanaging at the Hawthorns, it’s time he put the Albion fans first to find the best deal for the club to progress forward.
There will be hope that this potential spanner in the works won’t delay a deal from progressing forward, but there have already been that many twists and turns in this saga that you never know what could happen next.
In other West Brom news, Roy Keane blasted a senior player live on air for what he did against Wolves.
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