Takeover Talk

Embattled Birmingham chief Carson Yeung hopes to sell the club to a Hong Kong consortium for £40million.

And he has got Gianni Paladini's Italian bid as a back-up option after the ex-QPR chairman raised his offer.

Birmingham president Yeung has to sell as his business empire in his native Hong Kong is collapsing.

He is due in court next month over money-laundering charges.

His assets have been frozen and he has been unable to pump in any cash into Championship City since relegation in 2011.

Birmingham chiefs hope to announce soon to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange a firm offer for the club.

They ideally wish to sell to a Hong Kong consortium, who are offering more money and trying to finalise their bid.

But if the proposed deal collapses, Brum will turn to Solihull-based Paladini, who still wants to buy the St Andrews outfit.

Lurking: Gianni Paladini former chairman of QPR wants to buy Birmingham City
Paladini's opening £25m offer - revealed by MirrorFootball on September 11 - was rejected but he has since returned to up it to £30m.

Yeung is holding out for £40m - half what he paid for Birmingham in 2009 and selling to new Hong Kong owners suits him better.

Paladini left the R's by mutual consent in 2011 after eight years at Loftus Road.

Former QPR chairman Gianni Paladini closing in on Birmingham City deal
Gianni Paladini, the controversial former chairman of Queens Park Rangers, is hoping to conclude a deal to buy Birmingham City within the next few days.

Back in the game: former QPR chairman Gianni Paladini with former owner Flavio Briatore
Paladini attended Birmingham’s 1-0 victory at Leeds United yesterday and was also at the midweek draw away to Millwall as talks continue over a takeover of the Championship club.
It’s understood that Paladini’s bid does, despite his denials, include Flavio Briatore, who was formerly a part-owner of QPR, and that their consortium is offering just over £15 million as an initial payment for Birmingham.
This will be supplemented by a further £20 million in investment – mainly on the squad – and another £10 million should the club return to the Premier League.
It is understood, according to sources, that the deal is “90 per cent” concluded, but Birmingham yesterday denied that any agreement was imminent.
As the deal has still to be finalised the Football League, as yet, has not been notified.

When contacted by The Sunday Telegraph yesterday, Paladini confirmed that he was interested in the club but suggested that current owner, Hong Kong businessman Carson Yeung – who is facing trial for alleged money-laundering – may be in talks with another bidder.
Under the terms of Paladini’s offer it’s understood he will take a 40 per-cent stake, with the remaining 60 per cent being acquired by Briatore.

Andy Wood wrote:Sounds like his consortium is loaded NOT 17 million down rest in installments wtf ,we are only talking 30m

The Italian consortium hoping to buy Birmingham City remain in negotiations with the club’s hierarchy.

A week after a formal offer, worth around £30 million, was lodged there is still no breakthrough one way or the other in the takeover saga.


Peter Pannu, the man heading up matters for Blues, has been scrutinising the fine details with Carson Yeung.

And although the terms of the offer have not been accepted, neither have they been dismissed out of hand.

Lawyers representing both parties are continuing to talk about the structure of the deal, it is believed.


Whether Pannu and Yeung are demanding plenty more than £30 million, proposed in instalments after a £17 million downpayment, is unclear.

Gianni Paladini, the Solihull businessman and figurehead of the Italian attempt, has kept a low profile and maintained a silence for the past fortnight.

And so far, there has been no announcement made by parent company Birmingham International Holdings Ltd to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange about the move.

Pannu, Blues acting chairman and BIHL chief, has interest from a mystery Chinese/Hong Kong consortium.

Gianni Paladini

But is understood the Italian offer is still the only one to have been put in writing.

If no agreement looks like being struck soon, the Italian group might possibly withdraw from the running.

And the longer the saga drags on, the more likely the impact on the Blues team itself.

In the last set of Blues plc accounts, no secret was made of the fact that players might have to be sold in the transfer window to keep the club operating as a viable concern.

And Yeung is due to stand trial to answer charges relating to alleged £59.7 million worth of money laundering at the end of this month.