West Brom look as though they are moving closer to a long-awaited takeover of the club.
Guochuan Lai has held a controlling stake in the club since taking over at The Hawthorns back in 2016.
Since then, numerous interested parties have been linked with the purchase of the Baggies from Lai.
So far, no deal to do that has yet been agreed. However it seems as though Lai is now ready to take action that would help move the takeover of West Brom nearer to being completed.
Guochuan Lai ready to repay loan to Alex Hearn
According to a report from The Athletic, Lai has agreed to repay a loan he took out, secured on shares in the parent company of West Brom.
Back in 2021, Lai borrowed £2million from entrepreneur Alex Hearn, which he had so far yet to repay. That meant Hearn could have been entitled to claim a 2.35% stake in the holding company of West Brom.
With new interest rates kicking in, Hearn could have been able to claim a larger stake in the club. As a result, Hearn had reportedly been set to join Chris Farnell in a trip to China to try and complete a purchase of the Baggies.
However, these latest updates now state that a bid to buy West Brom from Florida businessman Shilen Patel is leading the way to takeover the club.
Consequently, Hearn is now said to have agreed a deal that will see Lai repay the loan he took out in installments over the next year-and-a-half.
Those payments would be connected with one made by Patel to Lai to take control of West Brom. Meanwhile, Hearn has apparently waived a defaul interest rate and accepted a smaller sum from Lai.
That is expected to remove one the obstacles to Patel in his attempts to buy the club. It will also make Farnell’s hopes of taking over West Brom less likely to be realised.
West Brom takeover update a huge relief for fans
This will be welcome news for anyone of a West Brom persuasion.
The Baggies have been in a precarious financial position for some time now, with the club’s debt growing.
Securing a new owner and the investment that brings could therefore be hugely important in order to make West Brom more financially sustainable going forward.
Those issues have also limited what the club have been able to do in the transfer window this season in particular.
Overseeing such a change could therefore also allow for more investment in the squad. That in turn would make West Brom more competitive on the pitch too.
With that in mind, you feel those connected with the club will hope that this update means a takeover at The Hawthorns can be done sooner rather than later.