Hong Kong's Yeung Completes Birmingham City Takeover

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Reuters Half of England's Premier League clubs now have foreign owners after Hong Kong businessman Carson Yeung's Grandtop International Holdings took its stake in Birmingham City to 94 percent on Tuesday. Yeung, who already had a 30 percent shareholding in the Midlands club, is now entitled to buy the remaining shares and re-register City as a private company. "Grandtop is pleased to announce that, all conditions of the offer having been satisfied or waived, the offer is hereby declared unconditional in all respects," the company said in a statement to the London Stock Exchange. Birmingham manager Alex McLeish was delighted the takeover had gone through and hoped he would have more money to buy players in the January transfer market as he bids to consolidate City's top flight place after promotion last season. "It is exciting times and something I've great anticipation for," he told the BBC. "I am looking forward to working with the new owners. I am ambitious and they are ambitious and, of course, if there is money to spend we would welcome it. "We are looking forward to a new era. The fans are anticipating another step forward." Former co-owner David Sullivan, who ends his 16-year association with the club, thought City were in safe hands. "He (Yeung) seems genuinely interested in the club," Sullivan told the BBC. "He has made all sorts of pledges to the supporters and he's passionate about football. "I hope he'll do extremely well and I have every reason to believe he'll do extremely well." Birmingham are the 10th Premier League club to fall into foreign ownership. The deal comes a day after Portsmouth were taken over by Saudi Arabian businessman Ali al-Faraj. (Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Ken Ferris)