Simon Jordan says he would be “surprised” if Qatar invested in West Ham and thinks Daniel Kretinsky, the club’s current 27% minority owner, will ultimately purchase the shares that are currently on the market.
On November 2, the talkSPORT analyst reacted to Jim White’s suggestion that Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani, a former Manchester United bidder, might buy Vanessa Gold’s shareholding, which she had said she would consider selling this week.
Jordan said “my nose tells me that I don’t think it will be the Qataris” and backed Czech billionaire Kretinsky to increase his share in the club, potentially to the point of gaining control by passing David Sullivan’s holding.
“Could it be, look over to stage-right, in comes Sheikh Jassim?” asked White at 11:52 a.m. He may have reasoned, “Well, maybe there’s a door open for me at West Ham United,” after his failure at Manchester United.
Jordan retorted, “I believe the Czech guy will be the one to purchase it, despite his public declarations to the contrary.
“I’ve always believed that he will eventually pick off the equity in that football club bit by bit and gain control in the end.
“With all due respect, I would be surprised if a Qatari were to join at 10%; after all, there is a feast and famine mentality between West Ham United and Manchester United.” I am aware that Manchester United is still the blue chip, but they do face challenges now.
“They may sell it if someone wants to purchase the entire share holding for a reasonable price, but if I were investing money somewhere, I would put it on the Czech man Kretinsky since he is already there.
If he purchases all of her shares, it would put him in a situation where he would pass David Sullivan and enter the 52% bracket. He would be in charge of the company.
“I’ve always felt that this Czech billionaire would be the person that ends up owning West Ham and I’ve not seen anything to illustrate that’s not going to be the case… maybe he doesn’t like the price and there needs to be a settling down on the issue…
“I’d be surprise if a Qatari who was trying to buy Manchester United outright would think [of] a £200million deal, or whatever this might be.”
Assumptions
If the Qatari interest is based on a desire to simply get involved in the Premier League somewhere then it’s possible that there may be interest in Gold’s shares.
But a minority investment in West Ham is indeed a different proposition to a multibillion full takeover at Old Trafford so it is perhaps unlikely.
There is a belief within the club that it will happen though so whether that is just wishful thinking or based on some sort of indication from somewhere will become clear in the coming weeks.
With some people believing that Sullivan would try to sell up as soon as the penalty clause pertaining to tenancy at the London Stadium expired, it seems that the longer-term picture at the top of the club will take longer to emerge.
That was back in March, and he doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. On the other hand, Kretinsky also seems prepared to play the long game, so it’s difficult to say what his plans are right now.
The likelihood is that the football operation won’t be significantly impacted if a new investor steps forward, but if Kretinsky makes a significant move to take the majority ownership, it would probably have a greater impact.
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