A Bahrain asset and wealth management company has launched an audacious takeover bid for a leading English Premiership football club.

Media reports in the UK yesterday claimed Western Gulf Advisory (WGA) founder Ahasan Ali Syed was in talks about a GBP300 million ($476.60 million) buyout of former champions Blackburn Rovers.

A spokeswoman for the company, which is based in the Seef district of Bahrain, confirmed that negotiations between WGA and the club were ongoing.

She said it was hoped these would be finalised 'very soon' but that no further statement would be issued until then.

British newspapers were awash with stories of the latest takeover of an English club by foreign investors - with Liverpool also reportedly the subject of a bid by a Chinese-American businessman.

The Daily Telegraph reported that Syed had made a formal approach to the club's advisers, Rothschild, with a view to buying the club, paying off its outstanding debt and investing heavily in the playing staff, academy and other infrastructure.

It went on to say that Rothschild, the investment bank, has subsequently alerted the club and the trustees of the estate of the club's former backer, the late Jack Walker, to Syed's interest and that they are understood to be interested in his approach.

The Guardian stated that the businessman was understood to have singled out Blackburn because of its potential for growth and wanted a deal to be agreed this month and the sale completed next month.

WGA is a self-sustaining investment and asset management company that provides investments and services such as corporate finance, debt, and equity participation on the basis of its own adequate internal resources.

A legal graduate specialising in law and finance, Mr Syed, who is originally from Hyderabad, joined his family's 150-year-old private lending business with the conviction that the family's wealth could be better invested by him rather than banks.

He has been self-employed since the age of 16 and closed his first significant deal worth $1.5 million aged 18.

Expertise

The 36-year-old divides his time between Bahrain and Switzerland, where WGA also operates, and plays an active role in the management and boards of more than 130 companies worldwide.

Syed's expertise and professionalism is highly sought after and he is known to act as a financial adviser to royalty and high net worth individuals.

He has lived in Bahrain since 2008 and his wife and children are based here. Although he is currently understood to be in Manama, he could not be reached for comment yesterday.

According to the Daily Telegraph, he previously considered a takeover bid for more celebrated clubs, namely Liverpool, but considered Blackburn a closer fit with WGA's investment model, which focuses on turning around well-run businesses and acting as an investment partner.

The Lancashire-based club has been in the hands of Jack Walker's estate since the former steel baron died in 2000.

The Blackburn-born, life-long Rovers supporter bank-rolled Rovers from the early 1990s, when he developed a multi-million pound squad that eventually became English champions in 1995.

Two years ago, the Walker estate made it clear that it was no longer in a position to underwrite the club indefinitely and Rovers have been searching for new investors since.

Earlier this summer, Indian businessman Saurin Shah signalled his intention to table a GBP25 million bid for Blackburn, promising to tap into its large Asian community to help fill Ewood Park.

The Guardian claimed that WGA has GBP8 billion in assets under its control and that Syed planned to use some of the company's funds to clear the club's debts of around GBP20 million.

It envisages that the promise of such a wealthy new owner would transform Blackburn's prospects and lift them from the annual struggle to remain in the upper half of the Premier League. – TradeArabia News Service