Chris Lepkowski says the loss made by Guochuan Lai on his West Brom investment is “shocking” as Shilen Patel edges closer to finalising a takeover.
Patel has agreed on a deal to acquire Lai’s controlling stake in the Baggies, with final ratification from various bodies expected this week.
Lai effectively sold Albion for under £20million, which is an almighty hit on the reported £175m he paid to purchase the club for in 2016.
Speaking on The Liquidator podcast [25 February, 1m 38s], Adrian Goldberg said: “For every £10 Lai and his backers bought the club for, he will get £1 back, which suggests West Brom was a rotten investment for them.
“But they only have themselves to blame. They managed the club in a shockingly bad way, allowing the infrastructure to rot. It’s a massive loss for them. As investors, you can’t imagine how angry they’re going to be.”
Lepkowski added: “It’s just shocking, it really is.”
West Brom takeover all but completed
The takeover may not have officially been finalised yet, but no further hiccups are expected prior to an announcement being made this week.
Albion appear to be in much safer hands under Patel than they were during the Lai regime, which is thankfully now at an end.
For all the talk of West Brom being sold for £60m, the figure could be as low as £15m in terms of the upfront payment.
The rest then covers the various debts, which continued to spiral with each day Lai was still in charge at The Hawthorns.
Lai could yet earn a nice bonus of around £10m if Albion get promoted, but that is a small price worth paying to get him out of the club.
The Chinese businessman has taken an almighty hit on his investment, and the sad part is it did not have to be this way.
As it is, though, that is a lot of money spent and nothing to show for it now that the dust is finally starting to settle on the whole saga.
In other West Brom news, a pundit slammed an Albion player for something “poor” he did in the draw against Hull City.
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