Is West Ham for sale?
Another week of economic meltdown in Iceland has seen Landsbanki - the bank which the West Ham chairman owns a 40 per cent stake in - put into administration under the authority of the Icelandic government.
With the whole country threatened with bankruptcy, the government is looking for the banks to sell off their foreign assets and return currency to the country, and that could lead to the sale of West Ham United.
With the loss of £6million from doomed club sponsor XL Holidays last month as well as the prospect of a £30million compensation pay-out to Sheffield United next year, many would have thought that Gudmundsson would jump at the chance to offload the club.
But unless he is forced to do so, it seems that he is looking to hang on to his east London asset.
Chief Executive Scott Duxbury issued a statement on the club website on Tuesday, dismissing the prospect of a sale.
"The position of Landsbanki has absolutely no effect on West Ham United and Mr Gudmundsson's ownership of the club," he insisted.
"Mr Gudmundsson is an investor with a large portfolio, of which Landsbanki was just part. He remains as committed as ever to West Ham United and is not looking to sell the club."
Just how committed that is remains to be seen. Obviously his major preoccupation is in Iceland and their economic woes at the moment, with West Ham likely to remain on the backburner for some time to come.
The prospect of a new stadium, and the announcement of a new training facility has not come to fruition, while players were sold in the summer transfer window to help balance the books.
Indian billionaire Anil Ambani was linked with a takeover of the club over the weekend, and though West Ham have confirmed that they have received no approach from him, if they were, it may be a difficult offer to turn down.
Ambani, a communications and energy tycoon based in Mumbai, India, was quoted as the sixth richest man in the world in 2007 with a personal wealth of over £20billion.
He has already been linked with possible takeovers at Newcastle United and Everton in the Premier League.
The club's vice-chairman Asgeir Fridgeirsson, also speaking on behalf of the chairman, confirmed that there had been interest from possible buyers.
"We have not been accepting any offers," he said on Tuesday afternoon.
"Agents have been contacting us and we have told them that we are not interested."
Just how long the club can afford to do that remains to be seen. Gudmundsson's personal wealth is still considerable, but it seems he has decided not to put any more capital into the club for the forseeable future, and that cannot be good news.
0 comments:
Post a Comment