Hong Kong tycoon lines up Birmingham City bid
HONG KONG: An Asian consortium led by Hong Kong businessman Carson Yeung is planning a HK$770 million (US$98.5 million) bid for English Premier League club Birmingham City, a newspaper reported yesterday.
Hong Kong's Ming Pao newspaper gave few details about Yeung's plan, only saying he would make the formal bid, equal to about 50 million pounds "within the coming days".
Birmingham City was promoted to the Premier League last month and is the latest in a string of English soccer clubs to attract interest from investors, many from overseas.
Yeung was part owner of the Macau casino Greek Mythology, the paper said. His plan to buy Birmingham was Yeung's third attempt to buy an English club, the paper said.
Birmingham City Plc, which said last week it was in takeover talks, is chaired and co-owned by David Sullivan, the owner of the Daily and Sunday Sport newspapers and Private, Britain's largest chain of sex shops.
Sullivan, who holds around 38 percent of Birmingham's shares, co-owns the club with David Gold and his brother Ralph, who both hold about 18 percent and whose Gold Group International company owns high steet lingerie and sex toy seller Ann Summers.
Premiership status is estimated to be worth around 60 million pounds ($118.1 million) in terms of increased television revenue, gate receipts and sponsorship.
Managed by former Manchester United defender Steve Bruce, the club has long lived in the shadow of city rival Aston Villa, bought by American billionaire Randy Lerner last year.
Earlier this month, Newcastle United became the latest club to change hands after reclusive retail tycoon Mike Ashley bought the club, bucking a recent trend of foreign investors buying up English teams.
Last season, Liverpool, West Ham United and Villa were bought by overseas investors. The spending spree followed American Malcolm Glazer's controversial purchase of Manchester United and Russian Roman Abramovich's takeover at Chelsea.
Buyers are hoping to tap into the worldwide appeal of the richest soccer league, which is set to share record broadcasting revenue of 2.7 billion pounds over the next three years.
Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who fled the country after a bloodless coup, is still in the frame to buy Manchester City despite having his assets in Thailand frozen.
Agencies
(China Daily 06/19/2007 page23)
