West Brom confirm takeover by Chinese investment group as chairman Jeremy Peace steps down
Peace will be replaced by former Blackburn chief John Williams after the club was sold to a group headed by 42-year-old Guochuan Lai
West Brom have announced the club is to be taken over by Chinese investors.
Chairman Jeremy Peace has been looking to sell the Baggies for some time but had been waiting for the right deal to come his way.
He has now agreed to sell parent company West Bromwich Albion Holdings to a group headed by Guochuan Lai.
Lai, 42, is the controlling shareholder in Yunyi Guokai Sports Development Limited which will acquire West Brom, subject to approval.
Peace is to step down following the takeover with former Blackburn chief John Williams replacing him.
Lai built his career aiding the development of Palm Eco-Town Development Company Limited into China’s largest landscape and design company. It now has a market value of around £1.8billion.
He said: “I am excited and privileged to have the chance to become the new owner of this great club.
“We have a strong squad, loyal fans and a unique culture. My immediate priorities will be to maintain the club’s stable structure, respecting its well-run nature and its heritage. I have no intention of changing the club’s ethos.
TURBOII030
West Bromwich is completely at the BOTTOM now
http://www.livescore.com/soccer/england/premier-league/
West Brom crisis deepens as players forced to apologise for ‘stealing taxi’ during warm-weather training in Barcelona
West Bromwich Albion’s troubled season has been plunged into deeper crisis after four senior players allegedly hijacked a taxi during a drunken night out on the club’s mid-winter training camp in Barcelona.
Club captain Jonny Evans, Gareth Barry, Jake Livermore and Boaz Myhill have all made a grovelling apology for the bizarre incident which has heaped fresh embarrassment on the Premier League’s bottom club.
West Brom the fourth Midlands club in Chinese hands Away from the traditional rivalry of the West Midlands’ clubs, there is now a new dimension to their competition after the Chinese takeover yesterday of West Bromwich Albion, in a deal thought to be worth about £150 million. Like Aston Villa and Wolverhampton Wanderers, along with Birmingham City to the east, West Brom are now in the hands of Chinese owners after confirmation that an investment group, Yunyi Guokai (Shanghai) Sports Development Limited, led by Guochuan Lai, an entrepreneur, has bought out Jeremy Peace. The sum paid is thought to be… Read more »
积分射手榜|英超
http://sports.sina.com.cn/g/pl/table.html
#14 西布朗 西布朗
来自英超球队西布朗官方网站的消息，西布朗现任主席杰里米-皮斯已经同意把手中拥有的88%俱乐部股份出售给以赖国传为首的中国财团，这也是英超历史上头一支由中国资本主要控股的英超队。
赖国传：“非常荣幸能够成为这家俱乐部的新老板，我目前最首要的任务是保持俱乐部现有的架构，尊重这家俱乐部原有的良好特点和遗产。我没有任何改变这家俱乐部的传统精神的意思。”
根据西布朗官方网站披露的消息，这桩交易在6月26日就已经达成协议，随后一直在走中国政府和英国政府的批准流程。在上海自由贸易区同意了这桩收购后，英国金融市场行为监管局以及英超官方也在原则上同意了这桩收购，目前已经在最后的签审阶段。
伴随着赖国传的入主，西布朗原来的主席杰里米-皮斯也辞去了担任14年的俱乐部主席职务，并且从已经入主了16年的球队董事会退出。接任者是约翰-威廉姆斯，原布莱克本主席兼CEO。