The US bid to buy into West Ham has taken a stunning £260bn Chelsea twist overnight and may now become a full takeover.
West Ham are no strangers to takeover speculation since moving to the London Stadium nine years ago.
In fact back in 2022, Todd Boehly was actually being linked with a West Ham takeover before eventually leading the purchase of Chelsea.
The jury remains out on the BlueCo ownership of West Ham’s London rivals Chelsea, with supporters venting against the board during protests.
Some Chelsea fans have been demanding the club is sold on.
West Ham and Chelsea fans unhappy with ownership
For many West Ham fans that has been their wish for several years as a growing number lose patience with the topsy turvy tenure of majority owner David Sullivan.
The Hammers have failed to build on a period of success under David Moyes and have revealed they are at their PSR limit this summer.
After a season of struggle, that has sparked fears what the coming seasons might hold in store if transfer spending is going to be restricted.
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Spending has not been a problem for Chelsea under their owners – but a lack of success on the pitch and the manner the club is being run has been the major bone of contention for Blues fans.
Now it seems there may be a potential solution which ultimately suits both the Hammers and Chelsea.
Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images
Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images
Because the Blues could be set to lose a key stakeholder amid a stunning new £260 billion twist involving a US-backed bid for a West Ham takeover.
The shock development could have huge implications for both clubs and particularly West Ham chief Sullivan.
Last month that a leading Times journalist revealed there could be a change of ownership at West Ham amid interest from elsewhere.
There was a major development last week with confirmation that a mystery American investor has been ‘preparing an offer to buy the Gold family shares’ in West Ham.
After David Gold and his daughter Jacqueline sadly passed away, the former Hammers co-owner’s other daughter Vanessa put the family’s stake in the club up for sale in October 2023.
That has been tied up in probate since but the US bid has accelerated since the Gold estate exited probate recently.
Chelsea could lose big stakeholder to US bid for West Ham takeover
It has been revealed that mounting debts at Gold’s company Ann Summers is forcing them to sell their entire 25.1 per cent stake in the Hammers.
And now there has been a huge shift to the buy-in which has now become a potential majority takeover involving Chelsea and a fund worth £260bn.
Yesterday, the man behind the US bid to buy into West Ham was unmasked as the club’s existing part-owner Albert Tripp Smith.
The American investment executive, who already owns eight per cent of the club, was the co-founder of GSO Capital Partners, the credit investment platform of The Blackstone Group.
Smith has serious money himself but it is the people he associates with that will be ploughing money into the Hammers should he get his way.
Photo by Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images
Photo by Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images
£260bn Chelsea twist could see US consortium go for majority West Ham stake
One of whom is Chelsea part-owner Mark Walter.
Guggenheim Partners CEO Mark Walter co-owns Chelsea in another US consortium and it is claimed he personally owns just under 13 per cent of the Stamford Bridge outfit with Boehly – who is a former president of Guggenheim Partners.
Guggenheim Partners is a global investment firm said to have over £260 billion in assets.
Now top level West Ham insider Sean Whetstone has revealed Tripp Smith is planning a coup which could see him lead the US bid to add the Gold family’s 25 per cent share to his eight per cent – but then also purchase Daniel Kretinsky’s 27 per cent stake too.
That, Whetstone has claimed, could then give the US consortium a controlling 60.1% share of West Ham to outvote the remaining shareholders – chiefly Sullivan.
And in a bombshell update, Whetstone says Kretinsky, who also owns his boyhood club Sparta Prague, could ‘probably be persuaded to sell’ if someone doubles the £168.75m he invested in 2021.
Czech billionaire Kretinsky has doubled his net worth to over £13bn – mostly through energy – since buying 27 per cent of the club back in November 2021.
“Walter is best known for his extensive investments in professional sports,” Whetstone said.
“He is the primary owner and chairman of Major League Baseball’s Los Angeles Dodgers, which have won two World Series under his leadership. He is also the primary owner of auto racing organization Andretti Global, which operates the Cadillac Formula 1 team, and the Women’s National Basketball Association’s Los Angeles Sparks.
“In addition, he owns 20% of the National Basketball Association’s Los Angeles Lakers and 12.7% of BlueCo, a holding company that controls Premier League club Chelsea and Ligue 1 club RC Strasbourg.”