An English-led group has declared an interest in taking over Premier League side West Ham United and plans to spend £100 million on the club.
According to the Observer, West Ham hope that settling their long running legal dispute with Sheffield United will facilitate the sale of the club to new investors. The club are believed to have agreed compensation of around £25 million to the over the illegal registration of player Carlos Tevez and Sheffield United’s subsequent relegation.
“We just continue the process we’ve been working on the last four months,” said Vice Chairman Asgeir Fridgeirsson . “We’re engaged in conversation with 5 and 10 parties. We still don’t have any binding offers. There is a growing interest.”
West Ham says the club does not expect to change hands until the summer. The club’s owners won an extension of a moratorium that prevents banks from seizing its assets and forcing the sale of the club before the end of the season.
Hansa, the London club’s holding company, is controlled by Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson, who was the majority shareholder of an Icelandic bank seized by government regulators. In November, the holding company applied to enter administration because of Gudmundsson’s financial troubles.
