Kieran Maguire: Daniel Kretinsky takeover U-turn on the cards amid £6m reveal
Daniel Kretinsky may choose to remain a minority shareholder in West Ham rather than exercise his option for a full takeover.
That is the view of finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the Hammers’ co-owner’s behind-the-scenes plans.
Kretinsky bought a 27 per cent stake in the club in a deal worth around £180million in November last year, and it later emerged that there was a clause in the terms that allowed the billionaire to complete a majority takeover.
As relayed by the Irish Times on Tuesday (11 October), the Ballylumford power plant owned by Kretinsky saw profits reach a record high of £6.3million last year.
But when asked whether a spike in his external wealth might prompt the Czech investor to activate his full-buyout clause, Maguire was sceptical.
“Daniel Kretinsky’s motives are always difficult to work out,” he told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“He has traditionally been quite happy to be a minority investor in respect of businesses which he considers to be undervalued.
“This might be his approach as far as West Ham is concerned. He might consider them an opportunity to sell them for profit rather than have the responsibility and the eyes of the fanbase on him.
“There is a lot of attention which comes with being the majority owner. There has been negative attention levelled at Gold and Sullivan and the quality of their decision-making process over the past few years.“
In other news, Paul Robinson issues two-word verdict on Maxwel Cornet exiting West Ham after update from Germany.