Ken Dyer
04.01.10
Evening Standard
The battle for ownership of West Ham was hotting up following a big hint by
millionaire Malaysian businessman Tony Fernandes that he is ready to bid for
the beleaguered Premier League club. There were weekend reports that former
Birmingham co-owners David Gold and David Sullivan were well advanced with
their negotiations over a £46million bid for a 50 per cent stake for the
Upton Park club. However, Fernandes, who had intimated he would not be
making a bid, made a strong indication he may have changed his mind with a
Twitter post at half-time of West Ham's FA Cup third-round tie against
Arsenal. The Hammers led 1-0 at the time before eventually losing 2-1 and
the message read: "Great half for the young Hammers. Soon they will have an
owner who will make a difference and care."
Fernandes, who owns Air Asia and is behind the formation of the new Lotus F1
team, was born in Malaysia but educated in England, at Epsom College between
1977-83, during which time he became a firm West Ham supporter. The
45-year-old earned his reputation as a businessman when, after re-mortgaging
his house and against expert advice, he bought the failing government-linked
airline AirAsia and turned it around. He has subsequently had more success
with the creation of no-frills chain Tune Hotels and his personal worth is
estimated at around £300m. West Ham supporters, who are worried the club
will be forced to sell at least one of their big-name players this month,
are keen for something to happen soon and a popularity poll on one fans'
website put Fernandes at the top, just ahead of Sullivan and Gold. Fernandes
is due back in London ahead of West Ham's next match, at home against Wolves
on Sunday, and while Icelandic bank Straumur, effectively the owner of West
Ham, has repeatedly said it is in no hurry to sell, it looks likely there
will be major developments in the next 10 days.
The Sullivan/Gold bid had the advantage of being the first submitted to
Rothschild Bank, which has been engaged to deal with potential investors,
and it has received a 50-page shareholders agreement document as part of the
due diligence process. With Fernandes now seemingly also seriously
interested, the future ownership of West Ham now seems less cut and dried,
while a third potential consortium, the city-based Intermarket Group, are
also due to lodge a formal bid today. Hammers boss Gianfranco Zola insisted
after yesterday's third-round FA Cup defeat that he will not be forced to
sell any players this month regardless of what happens with a possible
takeover. "Everybody knows the financial situation - I think we have
stability and do not have big problems," said the Italian. "I don't expect
anybody to leave. I hope the team remains the same because when everyone's
back, it is going to be a different story."
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