Blues owner sells 12% stake in football club to Chinese advertising company
BIRMINGHAM City’s owner, Birmingham International Holdings, has a 12% stake in the football club to a Chinese advertising company.
The stake is worth more than £3.5m (HK$45,000,000) and will require £780,000 (HK$10,000,000 ) to be deposited within a week of the MoU being signed to a designated law firm. The outstanding balance has to be transferred with 10 days of the agreement.
The deal, first muted last month, has seen the BIH board sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the advertising company which may see the stake double.
BIH said the advertising company had not been an existing shareholder in the club. Once the deal is complete then the company will have the right to nominate two directors to sit on the Championship club’s board.
BIH is hoping the sale will enable it to leverage its position with future Chinese investors as it looks to generate cash for the struggling football club.
In a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, BIH said: “The company can raise further capital from the disposal and will be able to collaborate with the new Chinese partners to enter into the China market through their connections in the People’s Republic of China.
“Accordingly, the board believes that the terms of the disposal is reasonable and in the interests of shareholders as a whole.”
The agreement is the first business concluded by BIH since Carson Yeung stepped down from his role as chairman of the football club.
The deal is conditional on the shares remaining for trade on the on the HKSE and the FA will be informed of the agreement to determine whether it needs to approve the transaction.
