West Ham United shareholder agrees to sell company shares to French billionaire Xavier Niel

Daniel Kretinksy, a stakeholder at West Ham, has consented to sell French billionaire Xavier Niel his interests in the Le Monde Group.

The agreement completes the Czech businessman’s departure from the Paris-based company, according to a report published in the French daily Le Monde on Saturday, September 23.

Niel’s holding firm NJJ Presse has bought Kretinksy’s shares, which he acquired in 2018. The Financial Times reported on September 23 that the acquisition is valued at around £43.6 million.

Interesting

After making significant investments in the media sector in the previous few years and then selling Niel his share of Le Monde, this is a very intriguing move for Kretinksy.

In November 2021, the Czech acquired a 27% interest in West Ham, making him the club’s second-largest stakeholder. He also obtained an option to purchase the club altogether at a later date.

This latest move will hand him an extra £43.6million, but that won’t add too much to his wealth if he wants to eventually take up the opportunity to complete a full takeover.

After the team’s on-field success, calls for David Sullivan and the Gold family to sell their club shares have been made for a number of years, although they have cooled off a little bit in recent times.

You would expect that this would happen eventually, but if Kretinsky doesn’t press for a contract straight now, it could not happen for some time to come—that is, if things on the field keep going in the right direction.