Qatar, Red Bull and three more who have been linked with West Ham takeover as Rothschild search continues
Yesterday at 12:42 PM
West Ham are one of a number of Premier League clubs actively seeking investment, with David Gold’s daughter, Vanessa Gold, looking to sell a chunk of her stake.
Talk of a full takeover has been knocked back by the club, although Daniel Kretinsky does have the option as part of a put-and-call agreement to take a controlling stake at a set price.
The Czech multi-industry billionaire’s investment in the Hammers in 2021 valued the club at about £800m, which is consistent with what vice-chair Karren Brady has previously suggested.
However, the enterprise values of Premier League clubs have gone stratospheric in recent years, and the £305m the Saudi Public Investment Fund-led consortium paid for Newcastle three years ago looks a snip.
In North London, Daniel Levy values Tottenham at £3.75bn. Elsewhere, the Everton takeover will likely value the club at around £600m. John Textor’s sale of his stake in Crystal Palace, a value of £500m.
As Liverpool University football finance lecturer and industry insider Kieran Maguire told TBR Football earlier this year West Ham’s London location is a major selling point.
Their stadium – or, more accurately, the taxpayer’s stadium – is also a big draw, with the peppercorn rent and enormous capacity meaning West Ham are the biggest matchday income earners outside the Big Six.
But despite Karren Brady looking to the Middle East for investment and the Rothschild bank courting potential buyers, there have been no takers for the 10 per cent formerly owned by the late David Gold.
Incidentally, Brady’s recent rhetoric about the imminent football regulator and its potential impact on foreign investment may show West Ham have at least one eye on a full takeover.
There has been reports of interest from a number of groups and individuals over the years, however, albeit some more credible than others.
Here, TBR Football takes a look at the would-be suitors for a full or part-takeover in East London.
Red Bull bid £650m for Irons, says Jack Sullivan
When West Ham signed an official energy drinks partnership with Red Bull earlier this year, some fans might have remembered when the energy drinks titans wanted to buy the club a few years back.
The marketing brand turned sprawling multi-club network submitted a £650m offer for a full takeover of West Ham in 2016, according to David Sullivan’s son, Jack Sullivan.
At the time, Sullivan junior said they had “no desire to sell our heritage and be called Red Bull West Ham.”
For Red Bull, it would have been their biggest football investment yet, with the potential to rename the London Stadium – which is still looking for a naming rights deal – with their brand.
That ship, undesirable as it may have been for West Ham fans, has sailed as Red Bull have now bought a significant minority stake in Leeds United.
- READ MORE: Emerson Palmieri says West Ham have a player who's even more skilful than Lucas Paqueta in training
The Qatar Investment Authority, the dream owners for West Ham?
Some fans will remember the Qatar Investment Authority from their attempts to buy Man United, fronted by the elusive multibillionaire banker Sheikh Jassim.
That takeover ultimately fell short of the Glazers’ valuation and they instead sold a 27 per cent stake to Sir Jim Ratcliffe for over £1bn.
But before United, QIA – whose eye-watering wealth would made them dream owners for many fans – also explored West Ham in 2016, with those rumours resurfacing last year.
Ultimately, increasing regulatory scrutiny via the independent football regulator and UEFA’s conflict of interest rules might have made a QIA investment difficult given Qatar’s links to Paris Saint-Germain.
- READ MORE:Emerson Palmieri says West Ham have a player who's even more skilful than Lucas Paqueta in training
Dan Friedkin explored West Ham before Everton
Although the Texan Toyota mogul with a side hustle in film production is now poised to take over Everton, Dan Friedkin also pondered a move for the Hammers in the past.
Having outposts in Rome, where he owns AS Roma, and London would certainly have been an attractive prospect.
We can only speculate as to what swung the pendulum in Everton’s favour and if that was due to their appeal as an asset or the difficult of prising West Ham away from a complicated ownership structure.
Daniel Kretinsky – still an option for the Hammers?
At one point, Kretinsky was more or less ordained as the next majority owner of West Ham, with supporters expecting it was only a matter of time until he exercised his option to take full control.
However, three years down the line, Kretinsky has distanced himself from a full takeover, although he says he remains full committed to the club.
The Sparta Prague owner is a little preoccupied at present, with the small matter of the takeover of a British institution in Royal Mail to deal with and all the scrutiny that entails.
Barring a major gear change – which isn’t out of the realms of possibility for the man dubbed the ‘Czech Sphynx for his inscrutable investment style – Kretinsky’s name won’t be above the door any time soon.
- READ MORE: West Ham could finally sign £9m captain years after David Moyes snub as Fulham eye freebie
The celebrity investment model: Shaquille O’Neal
Celebrity endorsement or investment is in vogue within football at present.
Ryan Reynolds at Wrexham, Ed Sheeran at Ipswich Town, and LeBron James in Liverpool are all notable examples.
And James’ fellow NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal was reported earlier this year to have looked at buying into West Ham.
Stories at the time did not specify what form his investment might take, but his relatively modest wealth – at least compared to the other names in this list – mean it would likely have been largely ambassadorial.
