In-the-know reporter @ExWHUemployee has been discussing a possible future takeover of West Ham United.
In recent weeks, it has been reported that there are supposedly a number of potential buyers of the Hammers waiting in the wings, one of those being from a ‘high-powered United Arab Emirates group’ (per Daily Mail).
Another possible buyer in the pipeline is one of the club’s current directors, Tripp Smith, who is supposedly putting a US consortium together to purchase the club from David Gold and David Sullivan (per Daily Mail).
In the latest episode of The West Ham Way Podcast, @ExWHUemployee issued an update on any potential takeover and shared what he knew.
He said: “Now, Tripp is obviously one of the shareholders, I think probably the third-highest shareholder behind Sullivan and Gold. He has basically looked to speak to consortiums. Now, I believe this has happened – I don’t believe it’s anything new, I think it’s happened in the past.
“The people that I speak to – a number of very, very, very well-placed people who are close to Tripp – tell me that there is truth in this. I often get messages saying, ‘there is truth. I’m telling you ‘Ex’, I’m telling you there’s truth in it’, and they’ve often got things right in the past for me not to doubt them.
“However, there are two reasons I doubt them. Firstly, and I could be wrong on this, but I don’t think Sullivan can sell the club until 2023 without having to pay back 15% of whatever he sells it for, because he’s not meant to sell as part of the agreement of getting the stadium.
“Also, if you speak to anyone that is close to Sullivan or Gold and you mentioned this – unless they’re playing games, which is obviously quite possible with those two – they say that they’ve not heard of any offer and nothing’s come through to them and even if it did, they wouldn’t sell unless it was an astronomical figure.
“So, I don’t think anything is happening directly at the moment, it might be going on behind the scenes. They need to know what division we’re in because that affects a lot of things, but I don’t think it’s close.”
TIF Thoughts…
As can be seen in what the in-the-know pundit had to say, it seems that there is not a takeover of the Irons anywhere near close.
Do you think David Gold and David Sullivan will sell the club at any point before 2023?No, I can't see it myself
Yes, they're bound to
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The fact that @ExWHUemployee also stated that the current owners may not be inclined to sell the club until 2023 seems likely to be a worrying claim for those who have protested against Gold and Sullivan.