Birmingham takeover bid has halted

BIRMINGHAM, England -- English Premier League club Birmingham City will not be taken over before the end of the current season at the earliest said chairman David Gold on Tuesday.

Hong Kong businessman Carson Yeung, was given a deadline of December 20 to complete his proposed takeover but Gold said that that deal was now "dead in the water."

He also played down talk of interest from Russian billionaire Vagit Alekperov.

"We now need a period of stability," Gold said. "We will do nothing now. We can't stop people making inquiries.

"We will concentrate 100 percent from now until the end of the season on Birmingham staying in the Premier League.

"We won't entertain anything until the summer. Our fans have been to hell and back and so have the staff.

"Now is the time to focus on staying in the Premier League everyone worked so hard to get back into last season."

He added: "It is still technically plausible that Mr Yeung could walk into the football club and put a cheque on the table but, according to takeover rules, there is a time factor - and that time factor has expired.

"It is like buying a house. If you buy a house there are still things that take time. It is the same with the takeover. They would still have to do those things.

"They can't just walk in and give us a cheque. They have to go through the whole process and that takes at least a week. It is December 18 today. It can't be done.

"The process would have had to have started by now. As far as I am concerned, the deal is dead in the water."

Gold added: "I know of no inquiry from Mr Alekperov. It is as simple as that and I would suggest it is hard for anything to go ahead without a major shareholder, as I am, approving the deal." E-mail to a friend