Amanda Staveley’s consortium has agreed a £150million deal to buy a 25.1 per cent share in West Ham United, which will throw the future ownership of the Championship club into doubt. Through her firm, PCP Capital Partners, Staveley offered a higher sum than the one tabled by Daniel Kretinsky, the Czech billionaire who already owns 27 per cent of the club, to purchase the full stake from the family of the late David Gold.
Last month the Gold family had agreed to sell 16 per cent of
their stake to Kretinsky. He is now considering “all options” after the
setback. The proposed deal would have made the Royal Mail owner the biggest
shareholder and given him control of the club.
Kretinsky and Vanessa Gold, David’s daughter, who are both West Ham co-chairs, said in a statement at the time that they had hoped the deal would be completed soon. Staveley’s deal was more attractive to Gold’s family because they can dispose of the full holding and it valued the club at a higher sum than Kretinsky’s offer.
Staveley led the takeover of Newcastle United for Saudi
Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. She had considered a bid for Tottenham Hotspur
but could now try to take full control of West Ham. The present consortium is
led by her, her husband Mehrdad Ghodoussi, and their firm, PCP Capital
Partners, in partnership with Ashland Forest Capital Partners, an American
private investment firm.
Sullivan back as kingmaker
Staveley’s intervention has put David Sullivan firmly back
as the kingmaker of the club’s future ownership. He resigned as West Ham
co-chairman in June after allegations of sexual abuse were uncovered by a Times
and BBC Panorama investigation. The 77-year-old British businessman was accused
of exploitative and predatory behaviour when he was making his fortune in the
adult industry, with the claims dating back to the 1980s. Sullivan denies
the allegations and has labelled them “factually incorrect and entirely false”.
Staveley or Kretinsky would need to buy his 38.8 per cent
share to take majority control of the club.
West Ham’s future shareholder structure is also complicated
by two rounds of pre-emption rights which dictate that existing investors have
first refusal on Gold’s shares at the price agreed with Staveley. In the
first round shareholders have 30 days to buy their entitlement, which is
up to the same proportion as their present holding. In the second round,
any remaining Gold shares can be bought by shareholders who participated in the
first round.
West Ham said in a statement that “the process will take
approximately two “the process will take approximately two months and, until it
is completed, nothing will change regarding the ownership structure of the
club”. They added: “West Ham United would like to assure supporters that
the day-to-day running of the football club is in no way affected by this
situation.”
Kretinksy’s disappointment
A spokesman for Kretinsky told the Sunday Times: “The
agreement we had reached with the Gold family in June provided stability for
the club at a crucial time. This does the opposite. We will always act in
the best interests of West Ham United and are reviewing all of our options,
including exercising our pre-emption rights in full.”
Kretinsky will be disappointed because he had been putting
building blocks in place to help the club’s bid to return to the Premier
League, including a director of recruitment and other senior
executives. The latest development seems likely to make stability
more difficult in the short term.
Vanessa Gold’ s statement
Vanessa Gold, representing the Gold family, said: “On the
12th of June Daniel Kretinsky and I agreed a sale that would have made EP Group
the single largest shareholder in West Ham. Unfortunately, since that time the
original deal and other alternatives that we have discussed could not be
brought to fruition.
“In light of this, I have now reached an agreement to sell
my family’s shareholding to a consortium of PCP Capital Partners, led by Amanda
Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi, in partnership with Ashland Forest Capital
Partners. While the process has not yet concluded, I wanted to be open with our
fans about where things stand and my intentions.
“My ambition throughout this process has been to ensure the
club has the right leadership and ownership to enable West Ham to achieve its
potential and return to its rightful place in the Premier League.”
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