Chris Wright agrees to sell QPR shares

[Atouk]

Good news from the club is that Chris Wright has agreed to sell his remaining 15% share of the club (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/q/qpr/4135769.stm) -- he'll sell the shares at full price, but will give half of the money to the club. Not as good as giving back the shares, but still a fairly classy way to go out.

Bill Power said "Chris has finally made what we consider to be to be a good offer to sell his shares. He'll give a significant amount of cash to the club. It's a nice gesture."

[art]

Good news from the club is that Chris Wright has agreed to sell his remaining 15% share of the club (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/q/qpr/4135769.stm) -- he'll sell the shares at full price, but will give half of the money to the club. Not as good as giving back the shares, but still a fairly classy way to go out.

Bill Power said "Chris has finally made what we consider to be to be a good offer to sell his shares. He'll give a significant amount of cash to the club. It's a nice gesture."

Wow, considering he didnt have to give anything to QPR, this is really good news.

Took him long enough, but he did the right thing in the end.

[K.P.]

Can someone explain some of the background as to why he is giving back the money? Thanks in advance.

[Atouk]

Chris Wright now tells a very different story (http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/sport/football/articles/16306431?source=Evening%20Standard).

"Whilst away on vacation after Christmas, I was amazed to be told that a BBC sports website had carried a statement from club chairman Bill Power that the board of QPR had reached an agreement with me for the purchase of my shares.

"I was also amazed by [chief executive] Mark Devlin's statement on the official QPR website saying that the purported deal for the purchase of my shares had now fallen through as a result of an offer from a new consortium to invest money in the club.

"I want to make it absolutely clear that no deal had ever been done to sell my remaining shares and that I have no knowledge or involvement with this consortium. Any disposal of my shareholding would, in all probability, be to the current board of QPR, presumably Mr Paladini or the chairman Bill Power, and I have never met or spoken to either of these individuals." Can someone explain some of the background as to why he is giving back the money? Thanks in advance.Wright was the majority shareholder and chairman during the mismanaged period that saw the club sink into administration and relegation. As he's a supporter of the club, the thought was that, for PR reasons and for the good of the club, he might arrange a deal where new investment coming into the club could bring money into the club, rather than simply buying shares from him, with Wright receiving all the profit. That sounds like the deal that Power talked about, but Wright's new statement seems to be at odds with that.

He correctly points out, however, that he didn't oppose the issuance of new shares that effectively diluted the percentage of the club he owned, with all of that new money going directly into the club.

[K.P.]

Belated thanks.