Hong Kong businessman Carson Yeung has effectively completed his takeover of Premier League outfit Birmingham City.
Hong Kong businessman taking charge at St Andrews
Carson Yeung has effectively completed his takeover of Premier League outfit Birmingham City.
Yeung's Grandtop International Holdings company had tabled a bid of £81.51million for the St Andrews outfit and the deal has now been ratified.
Grandtop announced they had acquired over 90 per cent of shares in the club and can now purchase the remainder on a compulsory basis.
That would enable Grandtop and Yeung to take the club off the Alternative Investment Market and into private ownership.
The Hong Kong businessman, who failed with his initial bid to take control of the club in 2007, has pledged his support for manager Alex McLeish.
The formal completion of the deal will mark the end of co-owner David Sullivan and managing director Karren Brady's 16-year spell with the club.
Unconditional
However, fellow co-owner David Gold is expected to continue under the new regime as chairman.
A statement from Grandtop read: "Grandtop is pleased to announce that, all conditions of the offer (for Birmingham City plc) having been satisfied or waived, the offer is hereby declared unconditional in all respects.
"As at 1pm on October 6, 2009, Grandtop owned or had received valid acceptances of the offer in respect of a total of 76,620,136 Birmingham City shares representing in aggregate approximately 94% of the current issued share capital of Birmingham City.
"Birmingham City shareholders are reminded that because the level of offer acceptances has passed 90% of the Birmingham City shares to which the offer relates, as set out in the Offer Document, Grandtop intends, as soon as practicable, to exercise its rights pursuant to sections 979 to 982 (inclusive) of the Companies Act 2006 to acquire compulsorily the remaining Birmingham City shares in respect of which the offer has not been accepted."
