West Bromwich Albion

West Bromwich Albion suspend takeover talks with unnamed party

By Daniel Lewis, Senior Reporter | 24 July 2015

Chairman Jeremy Peace reveals that he has "brought to a close the period of exclusivity" with an unnamed party over the sale of West Bromwich Albion.

West Bromwich Albion chairman Jeremy Peace has announced that the club have suspended takeover talks with an unnamed party.

The Baggies were hopeful that new owners would be in place by the end of the month, but negotiations have now stalled and their period of exclusivity has come to an end.

It is thought that the consortium in question, believed to be Chinese, would have bid around £180m for the Midlands outfit.

Peace, who has been chairman for 13 years and owns 88% of the club, was keen to stress at the time that any takeover deal would not affect Tony Pulis's summer transfer business.

In a statement on the club's official website, the West Brom chief said: "I have today brought to a close the period of exclusivity announced on July 3 and suspended negotiations with the interested party involved over the sale of West Bromwich Albion Holdings Ltd. I entered into an exclusivity arrangement in good faith after agreeing terms for the sale but it is now clear to me that this potential purchaser is unable to fulfil the terms of that agreement at this time.

"The club's long-term stability and continued development is of paramount importance and I am not satisfied that the interests of West Bromwich Albion would have been best served by my continuing discussions at present. It is important that I re-emphasise that the possible sale of the club does not and will not impact upon its day-to-day running and that this applies particularly in an area which I know concerns all supporters - team strengthening.

"This is a period in which there is always an understandable impatience for new signings to strengthen our squad and nowhere is this pressure more keenly felt than at board level. We have been busy pursuing transfer targets with the determined intention of helping our head coach Tony Pulis assemble a squad which he can take into the new Barclays Premier League campaign with optimism.

"But, as Tony has confirmed, we will not be held to ransom. Of course I know this can add to supporter frustration but I do believe they will see our efforts come to fruition over the course of the transfer window. As for the club's long-term future, it is true that both before and since the exclusivity announcement was made, other parties have expressed strong interest in a purchase of the club and therefore that process remains ongoing."

West Brom finished 13th in the Premier League last season under the guidance of Pulis.