By Sean Whetstone
If the current West Ham shareholders issue new shares to sell 27% of the club it would dilute their currently owned percentages.
As it stand David Sullivan has a controlling interest at 51.1% David Gold has 35.1% Tripp Smith 10% and Terry Brown and Daniel Harris 3.8%
From a total of 2,750 ordinary shares Sullivan and his trust own 1417, Gold and his company 965, Smith’s company 275, the Harris family, 75 and Terry Brown 18.
With a dilution of shares Sullivan could end up with 37.4% Gold with 25.7% Smith with 7.4% and others with 2.5%.
That would lave 27% for a new investor probably in the form Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky. That deal is expected to conclude in the next nine days with a possible announcement before papers are filed with Companies House.
In such a deal no single shareholder in overall control with the board as a whole making the decision via voting rights which would almost certainly be on the usual unanimous agreement objective.