Czech billionaire Kretinsky becomes largest shareholder at West Ham

Sept 4 : Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky has become West Ham United's largest shareholder after agreeing a deal to increase his stake, the Championship club said on Friday, effectively ending Amanda Staveley's attempt to buy into the former Premier League side.

Vanessa Gold, daughter of former West Ham chair David Gold, had reached an agreement last month to sell her family's shares to a consortium led by Staveley and others, after a previously agreed sale to Kretinsky fell through.

However, the BBC reported that Royal Mail owner Kretinsky struck a deal with West Ham's remaining shareholders, including former chairman David Sullivan, over the stake owned by the Gold family, raising his own shareholding to 46 per cent.

"West Ham United notes the announcement that Daniel Kretinsky, via 1890s Holdings, has reached an agreement to acquire the requisite number of shares to become the single largest shareholder at the club," it said in a statement.

Vanessa, representing the Gold family, said she was pleased that West Ham's shareholders had reached an agreement that confirmed Kretinsky had become the largest shareholder. Sullivan's stake will also increase to 40 per cent.

Gold said Kretinsky would be "taking a more active role in the decision-making at the club" while giving supporters clarity over the future of West Ham, who were relegated from the Premier League last term after 13 consecutive seasons in the top flight.

"My ambition through this process has been to ensure the club had the right leadership and to enable West Ham to achieve its potential and return to its rightful place in the Premier League," Gold said in a statement.

"This agreement, which was first outlined back in June, provides that stability, allowing the club