PAI Capital was under the impression it was heading in the right direction. The private equity firm had heard that David Sullivan wanted out of West Ham and, after having an opening offer of £300m for the club turned down in November 2020, was preparing its next move.
There was reason for cautious optimism. PAI, founded by the Azerbaijani businessman Nasib Piriyev, had been invited for talks at Sullivan’s Essex mansion before making its first bid and had gone away feeling positive. There were discussions about figures, about life at the London Stadium, and the overriding sense was that a deal was there to be done with West Ham’s majority shareholder, who has experienced plenty of ups and downs since buying the club with David Gold in January 2010.
