4th March 2024
The Walker Morris Sports team have recently advised WBAFC Holdings Limited on the sale of 87.8% of the shares in West Bromwich Albion Group Limited, the holding company of West Bromwich Albion Football Club Limited. The transaction completed on 28 February 2024 following approval from the English Football League.
The complex and time critical deal involved the WM team navigating a number of obstacles with numerous parties. The shares were sold to Bilkul Football WBA, LLC – a company owned by Florida-based entrepreneur Shilen Patel and his father Kiran Patel.
David Hinchliffe and Christian Slinger led a multi-disciplinary team from Walker Morris. They were supported by Tim Howden, Stephen Morris, India Swall and Shaney Stevens-Neale (Sport), Philip Scott and Zara Shafiq (Finance), Nicola Parkinson and Natalie Gray (Tax), Charlotte Smith and Adam Melling (Employment) and Andrew Northage and Hasan Siddique (Regulatory).
Commenting on the sale, Mr Lai, the ultimate beneficial owner said:
“I am incredibly grateful to Walker Morris for all of their help on this transaction. Without their expert advice and negotiating skills, this deal simply would not have happened. David, Christian and Tim were fantastic throughout the entire process, so a special mention and thank you to them.”
David Hinchliffe, Head of Sport at Walker Morris said:
“We are thrilled to get this transaction completed. The negotiations and timescales involved were extremely challenging, so to get a deal done is especially pleasing. The team worked incredibly hard on this transaction and my thanks go out to each and every person involved.
Finally, I would like to wish the new ownership every success with West Brom over the coming years.”
Ranked in the top tier by leading independent guides to the profession, the Walker Morris Sports team is known for being one of the few firms in the UK that can genuinely offer the complete sports law service. This latest transaction reaffirms their position as one of the top sports M&A law firms in the country.