English Premier League side West Ham United announced yesterday they’d been sold to an asset management group in which the majority stake is held by an Icelandic bank.
The London side hope the deal with CB Holding — worth a reported £100 million (US$158 million) — will secure their financial future. This was in doubt after previous owner and chairman Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson saw much of his personal fortune wiped out as a result of the Icelandic banking crisis caused by the global credit crunch.
Gudmundsson and vice chairman Asgeir Fridgeirsson have both left the club.
The majority stake in CB Holding is owned by Straumur-Burdaras, an Icelandic-based investment bank.
Andrew Bernhardt, a senior director with Straumur Bank, will be West Ham’s new non-executive chairman.
Meanwhile, Newcastle United announced yesterday they were up for sale at an asking price of £100 million.
The northeast side were relegated from the lucrative English Premier League on the final day of the season and owner Mike Ashley, who was almost forced out of the club by angry fans, has now decided to sell.
“The board of Newcastle United can today [Monday] confirm that the club is for sale at the asking price of 100 million pounds,” a club statement said. “Interested parties should contact Newcastle United [or Keith Harris at Seymour Pierce] for further details. The club will not be making any further comment at the present time.”
Ashley, a businessman who made his fortune running a chain of sports stores, had no prior connection with Newcastle before buying the club for £135 million in 2006.
He tried to find favor with the fans by attending matches at St James’ Park wearing a replica shirt and drinking pints of beer among the spectators. But he told the Sunday Times last month that he couldn’t wait to leave.
“It’s been catastrophic for everybody. I’ve lost my money and made terrible decisions,” he said.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
After fleeing Sudan when civil war erupted, Al-Hilal captain Mohamed Abdelrahman and his teammates have defied the odds to reach the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. They are today to face title-holders Al-Ahly of Egypt in Cairo, with the return match in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Tuesday next week. Al-Hilal and biggest domestic rivals Al-Merrikh relocated to Mauritania after a power struggle broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary force. The civil war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 12 million people, according to the UN. The Democratic Republic of the Congo-born Al-Hilal
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their
RSS