Birmingham Chief To Buy Back Yeung’s Shares

David Gold, the chairman of Premiership club Birmingham City, has stated that he will buy back the shares sold to Hong Kong businessman Carson Yeung should the latter’s takeover bid collapse.

Yeung bought a 29.9% stake in the club in June with a view to completing a full takeover, while Gold and co-owner David Sullivan still have 23.22% each.

However Yeung’s takeover plans have faltered lately and has until the end of the week to convince the club board that he can come up with the necessary £35m he needs to become the club’s new owner before a 20th December deadline.

Gold feels there is now ‘less than a 50% chance’ of the takeover going ahead.

‘Whilst David Sullivan remains part of this club, I would always work in tandem with him,’ Gold explained.

‘It’s my way. We’ve had a business relationship based on that for 30 years. Would I buy back some of the shares? Yes, but I would work in tandem with David. If he said to me or I said to him ‘let’s go into the market place and boost our shareholding’.

‘We would then have the right to go up to 29.9% of the shares each, giving us 59.8% between us. Yes, I would want to go and do that and I would put that to him.

‘What we wouldn’t want to do is for David to buy some and myself none and vice versa because we’ve been equal partners all the way through and you wouldn’t want to disturb what has worked for 30 years. Would that include buying back Yeung’s shares? Yes, if they were available.’