21 Aug 2009Carson Yeung puts down £3m deposit on Birmingham City

Football Clubs News

Carson Yeung has put down a deposit of £3 million as he moves as step closer to taking over Birmingham City Football Club, it has been announced.

Just last week, the Midlands side confirmed that it had received an approach regarding a possible takeover by the Hong Kong-based businessman through his Grandtop International Holdings group.

Now, having put down the deposit, Mr Yeung has until the first day of October to make an offer for the club, which is currently valued at around £81.5 million.

A statement released by the group acknowledged that this latest move signals the "first step towards a potential offer by Grandtop" for Birmingham City.

It added, however, that "there can be no guarantee that an offer will be announced by Grandtop or that an offer, if made, would be successful", though the club would hold onto the deposit money in either of these eventualities.

At present, Mr Yeung holds a 29.9 per cent stake in the club, making him the largest single shareholder, having opted against completely buying out chairman David Gold and co-owner David Sullivan at the end of 2007.

At the same time, manager Alex McLeish has urged the club's board to help the side stay in the Premier League, with talks regarding the possible acquisition of Sporting Gijon midfielder Michel for around £3 million ongoing.

Written by Tom Jenkins

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