WBA takeover explained

On Friday, West Bromwich Albion became the first Premier League club to be acquired by a mainland Chinese owner.

We spoke to our former Soccer Saturday colleague Mark Dreyer, who has been based in China since 2007 and now runs the China Sports Insider website, to get the lowdown on the deal…

What do we know about The Yunyi Guokai (Shanghai) Sports Development Limited group?

MD: It is in essence a very new company, formed specifically to buy West Brom, comprised of funding from three places: an asset management company known as Yunyi Investment, a company called Palm Eco-Town Development that specialises in landscape design, and Mr Guochuan Lai, a businessman with connections to the previous two companies.

It is unclear, however, whether or not these three elements have contributed equally, and I understand that West Brom is not releasing the terms of the deal or even revealing the total purchase amount at this time.

It is headed by entrepreneur Guochuan Lai, what type of figure is he?

MD: Until today, he was virtually unknown and, while people in the Midlands have been scratching around trying to dig up anything they can on him, I can assure you it’s been a similar story in China! Yes, he appears to be pretty wealthy, but there are an awful lot of millionaires in China – plus an increasing number of billionaires – and given the opaque nature of the business environment here, it is still possible to fly largely under the radar. And do not believe for a moment the tales he has been telling about West Brom’s 1978 trip to China being an important part of the deal. Mr Lai would have been three or four at the time, so I hardly think he’s been in love with the club ever since, saving up enough money until he could buy his beloved Baggies!

WBA have been transformed under Jeremy Peace into a stable Premier League club but there was no hope of …

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