David Sullivan and David Gold, the former Birmingham City co-owners, have made an offer of about £42m for West Ham United. The bid has been submitted to Rothschild, the bank which was appointed in October to find new owners.
The offer outlines two proposals. One is to buy West Ham outright and assume full control and the other is to purchase a 50% stake that would come with the guarantee of funds for new players. It is believed that would see Gold and Sullivan pay about £21m for a 50% shareholding and the same amount to service the short-term debt and strengthen a threadbare playing squad when the transfer window reopens.
The duo would effectively become strategic partners, although they would demand to have complete authority when it comes to the running of the club. Other interested parties have until today to finalise their proposals as Rothschild bring to an end a process that CB Holdings – the company formed by creditors and headed by the Icelandic bank Straumur which runs West Ham – had hoped would unearth a number of potential buyers. Sullivan and Gold were always expected to be near the front of the queue from the moment it became clear they were leaving Birmingham City after selling to Carson Yeung, although how their offer will be received remains to be seen.
There have been reports that Straumur, the largest shareholder in CB Holdings, is seeking close to £80m, suggesting that Sullivan and Gold will come up well short with their bid. Whether that valuation is realistic is debatable. A source close to the club said West Ham owe around £49m to several banks, a further £19m to Sheffield United to be paid over the course of five years as a result of the Carlos Tevez affair and another £15m to clubs to cover outstanding transfer-fee instalments.
On the field the situation is not much brighter with the threat of relegation hanging over the club. Indeed West Ham's parlous league position – one point and one place above the bottom three ahead of Saturday's trip to Birmingham City – allied to the opening of the transfer window three weeks tomorrow mean that Gold and Sullivan, as well as any other prospective buyers, will demand a swift response to their proposals.
It may well be that West Ham's ownership structure remains unchanged, with Andrew Bernhardt, the chairman, insisting there is no pressure to sell if an acceptable offer is not forthcoming. Should their bid fail, Gold and Sullivan, who are worth an estimated £750m between them, will almost certainly give up on West Ham and turn their attention to alternative options, with League One Charlton Athletic likely to be high on their list.
