West Ham equity restructuring complicates Staveley acquisition bid

Published Aug 4, 07:51 PM UTC

West Ham United co-chairman Daniel Kretinsky has sold just over 2% of his club shares to Czech businessman Jakub Havrant, a move that could disrupt former Newcastle United co-owner Amanda Staveley's plan to acquire shares in the club. The Gold family, heirs of late co-owner David Gold, announced last Saturday their intention to sell their 25.1% stake to an investment consortium led by Staveley. However, the deal is subject to West Ham's right of first refusal clause, allowing existing shareholders to match third-party offers. Kretinsky, who acquired 27% of shares in 2021 and had a prior purchase agreement with the Gold family that stalled due to allegations against majority shareholder David Sullivan, publicly opposes the Staveley deal. By reducing his stake below 50%, Kretinsky can acquire the Gold family's shares without triggering UK takeover rules that would require a full buyout offer. Majority shareholder Sullivan (38.8%) could theoretically bid but faces ongoing allegations he denies. The share sale process is expected to take about two months.