Guochuan Lai agrees to repay West Brom loan as initial deadline missed at The Hawthorns
Guochuan Lai has agreed to repay a West Brom loan after an initial deadline had previously been missed at The Hawthorns, according to The Athletic.
The outlet reported on its website on Wednesday (14 February) that the Baggies takeover had moved a step closer after Lai agreed to repay a £2million loan secured through shares of Albion’s parent company from Alex Hearn in 2021.
With Shilen Patel’s bid now leading the race, Hearn has allowed Lai to repay him over the next 18 months in three instalments, with the outstanding amount now upwards of £4million and a default interest rate kicking in at The Hawthorns.
Hearn has agreed to accept a smaller sum of money than expected and waived the default interest rate to help clear the path for Patel’s takeover, with the timing of such payments tied to what the American businessman will pay Lai to take over control of Albion.
West Brom takeover edging closer at The Hawthorns?
Lai’s loan with Hearn had proven to be the biggest stumbling block to West Brom securing a takeover and now that the loan appears set to be cleared, Albion supporters may well be able to look forward to Lai’s tenure at The Hawthorns coming to an end.
It had seemed bleak when the initial suggestion was that Lai wouldn’t be willing to pay off the £2million loan, as there were suggestions that Patel was put off of his purchase by the sheer amount of debt already at The Hawthorns before he arrived.
But for whatever reason, Lai has had a change of heart and not only cleared the debt but ended the possibility of the Baggies being partly owned by an Aston Villa fan which supporters were understandably not particularly keen on.
Hopefully, now that this loan has been sorted, the wheels can start rolling and West Brom can move forward with their takeover process.
In other West Brom news, Dike has broken his silence following his latest injury blow at The Hawthorns
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