West Brom are in talks with crypto investor Fred Chesnais over a potential £60million takeover of the club, according to the Daily Mail.
The outlet reported (25 July) that the French investor is willing to make a cash offer for the Baggies and all its assets, including the stadium and training facilities. Current owner Guochuan Lai has been keen to sell the club, asking for £65million after the club failed to win promotion last season.
Chesnais is the founder and chief executive of blockchain service Crypto Blockchain and has submitted the first offer to buy West Brom, with Guochuan looking to recoup some of the £200million he spent on the club in 2016.
Too early to tell
Not a lot is known about the Baggies’ new prospective owner. Crypto Blockchain is described by the Mail as a company “who invest in blockchain-based services across the sport and entertainment industries”.
Their website claims their “goal is to unlock value by investing in blockchain-based services across multiple industries, either as sole operator, in partnership with co-founders or as a financial investors”, while Chesnais himself has “extensive experience in the space, having created the Atari Token, a cryptocurrency whose goal is to become the token of reference for the videogame industry and with a market capitalization of billions of US dollars” [CBI].
While cryptocurrency investment can be a risk, Chesnais seemingly is a successful businessman and must have £60million spare to buy the Championship side.
West Brom fans have been hurt by inadequate owners, with Lai’s poor ownership epitomised by him reportedly taking a loan out from the club and delaying its repayment [Express and Star], so many will view potential new owners as a step up from him.
It is still very early, so specific details are unknown, but if Chesnais is proven to be a fit and proper owner of the club, and if he can bring some genuine funds to West Brom to boost their promotion hopes, Baggies fans may finally be free of the seven-year reign of Lai.
The Baggies’ top priorities when a new owner should be a stable financial structure, bringing their academy back up to scratch to prevent the likes of Aston Villa from signing their best prospects and making a genuine challenge for promotion again.
