There is a slight update on another article written on The Athletic today by Matt Slater. I don't have access but i think the update was along the lines of that senior officials want the American Consortium but the combo of Farnell/Hearn think they can get it done with Lai and are flying out to China next week to try and force through a deal.
Here's the bit on us:
"The situation at West Bromwich Albion is even more confusing.
As first reported by The Athletic last month, there is a three-way race to buy the Championship club from Guochuan Lai, the Chinese businessman who paid £175million for a majority stake for them in 2016, when they were a Premier League side. The contenders are: a group put together by the English sports lawyer Chris Farnell, Armenian entrepreneur Roman Gevorkyan’s Noah Football Group and a bid led by Florida-based businessman Shilen Patel.
The latter is very much the choice of the club’s senior staff and also of West Brom’s main creditor, MSD Partners, the investment firm linked to American IT billionaire Michael Dell. And it would be fair to say Patel is now the frontrunner. However, Farnell’s group still believes it has the inside track with Lai, the man who is actually selling the shares, and Farnell and potential partner Alex Hearn are going to China this week to try to close their staged takeover of the club.
Lai borrowed £2million from Hearn in 2021. The loan was secured on 2.35 per cent of West Brom’s shares, with a deadline for repayment of last Thursday. That deadline, unsurprisingly, came and went without repayment and the accrued interest has raised Lai’s debt to Hearn to more than £4million.
Hearn has recently sold his main business, a domestic heating firm called Warmfront, so he does not need his money back urgently. In fact, he has recently signalled to the club that he would be happy to wait for a change of control at The Hawthorns before repayment.
But, equally, he is willing to see if Farnell can get his deal over the line and perhaps convert that loan into a minority stake. Gevorkyan, in the meantime, has been encouraged to remain in the race, as all outcomes are still possible.
The same can be said about West Brom’s on-field prospects, too.
A 2-2 draw at fourth-placed Ipswich Town on Saturday has them fifth, so a return to the Premier League is a realistic goal for the coming months. But they are £40million in debt and heading towards a £35m annual loss. Next season’s projection is no better, either.
If they are not sold or promoted this season, they will need an almighty clear-out to avoid financial fair play trouble next year, assuming Lai can fund them that long. The next week or so feels crucial."
