BBC.co.uk
London-based financial company Intermarket has confirmed that it will make a
takeover bid for West Ham. The bid is expected on Monday, according to the
Daily Telegraph, and is believed to value the club at £100m. However, that
includes estimating West Ham's debts at £48m, whereas the club's owners CB
Holding insist they are closer to £38m.
Earlier this month, ex-Birmingham City owners David Sullivan and David Gold
also tabled an offer for West Ham. A spokesman for Intermarket said he
could not reveal any further details as the company had signed a
non-disclosure agreement with Rothschild, the bank appointed by CB Holding
to canvas potential investors. The main shareholder in CB Holding is
Icelandic bank Straumur, who has said that it is in no hurry to sell the
club. Straumur has had its debt payments frozen until September 2010. If
that had not happened, it would have been forced to sell off its assets,
including West Ham. West Ham are currently 17th in the Premier League, just
one place above the relegation zone.
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Fernandes tops readers poll
KUMB.com
Filed: Wednesday, 30th December 2009
By: Staff Writer
Businessman Tony Fernandes has narrowly topped a supporters poll asking who
fans would like to see run the club.
Despite CB Holdings' insistence that they are prepared to see out the next
two years as per their original plan speculation regarding their successors
continues unabated, with the deadline date for bids of January 7th rapidly
approaching.
And according to a poll conducted here on KUMB.com this week, AirAsia CEO
Fernandes - who has been spotted at the Boleyn on numerous occasions this
season - is the man supporters would prefer to take over the reigns.
Fernandes, at time of writing, just pipped David Gold & David Sullivan with
42.81% to 42.47% of the vote - although only a handful of votes seperate the
two. This will be particularly disappointing to Gold & Sullivan, whose
concentrated media campaign would appear to have failed to have its desired
effect.
The shady Intermarket group, who are once again claiming that a £100million
bid for the club is imminent, took just 10% of the vote with the remaining
4% of readers saying they preferred none of the above.
The poll remains open until the weekend; to cast your vote, click here.
Please note that voting is available to registered KUMB.com members only; to
register for free membership, click here.
Who's who: the main players
Tony Fernandes
45-year-old Fernandes is a Malaysian entrepreneur who made his name creating
Asia's first budget airline. Fernandes bought the failing AirAsia company -
which had just two planes in its fleet at the time and £25million-worth of
debt - and turned it into the continent's biggest success story, turning in
a profit within one business year. Educated at Epsom College before moving
on to the LSE, Fernandes became a big Hammers fan during time in London. He
recently became team boss of the Lotus Formula 1 team and often mentions the
Hammers on his Twitter feed. Personal wealth valued at around the
$300million (USD) mark.
David Gold & David Sullivan
Gold Group International is the parent company of a number of well known
brands such as Anne Summers and Knickerbox and the former owner of Gold
Star, producers of pornographic material, Sport Newspapers and Gold Air
International. The company is wholly owned by 71-year-old Eastender David
Gold who bought out his partner brother Ralph last year. He, along with
David Sullivan purchased Birmingham City in 1993 with the club on the verge
of bankruptcy and sold his stake earlier this year to Hong Kong-based
businessman Carson Yeung. Personal wealth of around £450million.
Cardiff-born Sullivan, now 60, has spent virtually his entire career in the
porn industry where he has produced a string of top-selling, top-shelf
publications plus a number of films (most notably including then-girlfriend
Mary Millington, who later committed suicide). He teamed up with Gold, who
he knew through the porn industry in 1993 to buy Birmingham and also has a
major interest in horse racing. Has personal assets valued at over
£500million.
Intermarket
For reasons unknown Intermarket, who by all accounts are not just a figment
of CB Holdings' imagination, have refused to reveal who is involved in their
consortium of 'London based' business people. This refusal to go public has
led to all manner of speculation, including rumours that one (or all!) of
Terry Brown, Eggert Magnusson, Tony Cottee or Tony Fernandes are involved.
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Sears makes Hammers return
Striker back for FA Cup clash with Gunners
Last updated: 30th December 2009
SSN
West Ham have recalled young striker Freddie Sears from his loan spell at
Crystal Palace. The 20-year-old was originally due to stay at Selhurst Park
for the entire season but injuries to Carlton Cole, Luis Boa Morte, Zavon
Hines plus Dean Ashton's retirement have left Gianfranco Zola with major
problems to contend with in attack. With Mexican forward Guillermo Franco
suspended this weekend, Sears is likely to find himself thrust straight into
the squad to face Arsenal in the FA Cup. Sears did not manage a single goal
during his spell with the Eagles, although he infamously had a perfectly
good effort ruled out at Bristol City in August after the ball rebounded
back out of the net.
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Dons plan to keep Quashie
Ince waiting to speak to Hammers over midfielder's future
Last updated: 30th December 2009
SSN
MK Dons boss is hoping to extend the loan deal of West Ham United midfielder
Nigel Quashie until the end of the season. Quashie linked up with the League
One club at the end of November after finding himself out of the first-team
picture with Premier League strugglers West Ham. The 31-year-old has made
eight appearances and scored two goals since joining the Dons, and Ince
wants Quashie to stay at the club. "We're looking to do something with
Nigel, but we are waiting on a phone call from his agent and some contact
with someone at West Ham," said Ince. "He's a Premier League player, but
he's still not 100% fit yet so he would have a lot more to offer if we can
make it happen.
"We'll try to get him until the end of the season if we can, but we will
have to wait and see." Quashie is ineligible for Saturday's FA Cup
third-round tie against Burnley under the conditions of his current loan
deal.
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West Ham set for takeover bid from London-based financial company
Intermarket
Daily Mail
By Sportsmail Reporter Last updated at 3:49 PM on 30th December 2009
Financial company Intermarket is set to make a takeover bid for Premier
League strugglers West Ham. The London-based company is believed to value
the club at £100million and, according to the Daily Telegraph, is expected
to table the offer on Monday. The figure includes an estimate of £48m worth
of debt while the club's owners, CB Holdings, insist they are nearer £38m. A
spokesman for Intermarket said he could not reveal any details as the
company had signed a non-disclosure agreement with Rothschild, the bank
appointed by CB Holdings to canvas potential investors. Icelandic bank
Straumur, the main shareholder in CB Holdings, is in no hurry to sell after
being granted an extension until September 2010 to pay off their debts.
Former Birmingham City co-owners David Sullivan and David Gold have already
had a bid for the Hammers rejected.
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Aston Villa may make transfer-window move for West Ham's Scott Parker
Martin O'Neill looks to bolster his midfield
Nigel Reo-Coker and Steve Sidwell may move on
Stuart James guardian.co.uk, Thursday 31 December 2009
Aston Villa are the latest club to show an interest in signing Scott Parker
from West Ham United next month. Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool have both
been linked with Parker, who is valued at around £8m, but it has emerged
that Villa are also considering competing for the 29-year-old's signature
after monitoring his impressive performances in the centre of the West Ham
midfield this season.
Martin O'Neill identified the absence of an authentic holding player – the
position where Parker has excelled at West Ham – among his favoured four-man
midfield earlier this month. Stilian Petrov has been converted into a
deep-lying midfielder with relative success but the Bulgarian is not
naturally defensive-minded while Nigel Reo-Coker, who was replaced by Parker
at West Ham, has struggled to make at impact at Villa during his two and a
half years at the club.
West Ham are extremely reluctant to allow Parker to leave Upton Park, with
the former Charlton Athletic, Chelsea and Newcastle United player seen as
crucial to their survival hopes, but the club's financial position could
encourage Villa as well as Spurs to test their resolve. A deal would be more
likely to happen with Villa if O'Neill were able to move on one of his
fringe players, although Steve Sidwell and Reo-Coker may well remain with
the club until the summer.
Reo-Coker made a surprising return to the Villa side for Tuesday night's
injury-time defeat to Liverpool but he has made only six Premier League
starts this season, having lost his place following a training-ground row
with O'Neill in September. The 25-year-old has attracted interest from
Fulham but O'Neill would want to secure a replacement before sanctioning his
departure and even then there is no guarantee the player would move.
Sidwell's future is just as uncertain, with the midfielder a regular
substitute and yet to recapture the form he showed for Reading before
joining Chelsea.
Luke Young has described Villa's defeat to Liverpool, which followed a 3-0
defeat at Arsenal 48 hours earlier, as a "massive setback", but urged his
team-mates to erase the memory of the result and ensure there is no repeat
of last season, when a promising campaign unravelled. "We want this to make
us stronger," Young said. "This is a massive setback but we can learn from
last season from what happened when we went on a bad run."
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