04 February 2023 , 13:32
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Birmingham City’s takeover is stalling over a failure to reach an agreement on how the club is sold.
A consortium, led by Jeremy Dale and Keith Pelley, is attempting to put together a framework that will satisfy the club’s Chinese owners. But, despite several meetings between lawyers, no firm way forward has been decided over the complicated arrangement that will see the Blues change hands.
Problems have arisen because the club - which is quoted on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange - needs to be sold in three tranches. This is a non-negotiable as far as the owners are concerned because it will enable them to keep their public listing.
The owner, Birmingham Sports Holdings Limited, is the front for a fragmented collection of associated companies, headed by Cambodian businessman Vong Pech. Pech is prepared to transfer an initial shareholding of 21.64 per cent but that will not confer ownership on the buyers.
The prospective purchasers therefore need to protect themselves against the Chinese returning to grab control by using their majority stockholding.
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Birmingham is in the midst of being taken over (Andrew Kearns - CameraSport via Getty Images)The waters have also been muddied because a group of ultra-high net worth individuals behind Dale and Pelley are effectively pooling resources to try and buy the club. That has led to further conversations between the legal eagles on how their clients’ cash should be protected.
The total sale price is around £35m - with just over half being paid for the initial 21.64 per cent share - and that’s why the buyers need a watertight agreement.
The Football League are keeping a close eye on the situation but could put up another obstacle in the way of any sale by insisting that the Chinese are simply removed from any ownership structure altogether - regardless of whether or not they are in charge.