West Brom: Goldberg says if Albion owned by Aston Villa fan as Guochuan Lai deadline passes
West Brom are not currently owned by Alex Hearn despite the repayment date of Guochuan Lai’s loan to his company passing, according to Adrian Goldberg.
After TheLiquidatorPodcast, which the former BBC Radio WM journalist hosts, revealed on Friday (9 February) that the Baggies’ controlling shareholder had missed the repayment date with Warmfront Holdings, he later dismissed one fan’s fear that the club was now owned by Hearn, who is an Aston Villa fan.
He tweeted on Friday that the debt belongs to WBA Holdings, which is controlled by Lai and isn’t the football club, but he added that the private company’s only asset is an 88 per cent shareholding in WBA Group and that is the football club.
“WBA Holdings is a private company created by Jeremy Peace and now controlled by Lai,” said Goldberg. “Despite its name, it is NOT the football club. Confusing, eh? Who let that happen?
“However, its only asset is an 88 per cent shareholding in WBA Group, which is the football club.”
Confusing situation for West Brom amid takeover talks
This is a confusing situation to get your head around after years of mismanagement at West Brom has created a complete and utter mess.
But the fact the repayment date has now passed doesn’t mean the club is now owned by Hearn, who has been trying to land a deal with Lai for the past few months alongside Chris Farnell.
The Manchester-based lawyer Farnell recently sent a signed letter to Lai, where he suggested proof of funds totalling £110million could be provided to take a minority stake in the club.
Hearn has also now changed the name of his company Warmfront Holdings to AH Holdings, but it’s unclear whether or not it’s just a coincidence that this development has emerged at the same time that the repayment date has been missed.
The situation should become clearer over the next few days, but it’s understandable that the Albion fans wouldn’t be keen on an Aston Villa supporter taking a stake in the club as there are other interested parties.
In other West Brom news, Neil Moxley has dubbed a Wolves fan a “moron” after what happened against the Baggies.
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