Despite being deemed the favourite to clinch ownership of Barclays Premier League side West Ham United, Air Asia CEO Tony Fernandes today admitted defeat in his bid to buy over the  financially-strapped football club.

tony fernandez interview 220109 02While Fernandes could not be contacted for elaboration, he posted on popular micro-blogging site Twitter.com: ‘Deal lost on west ham. Hopefully new owners protect what's good. We gave awesome deal and new ideas to rejuvenate a club and bring excitement.’

According to UK press reports, Fernandes withdrew his bid after failing to negotiate for full ownership of the club from its current owners.

This was a sticking point that ramped up the temperature of the negotiations over the planned buyout.

NONEFernandes’ withdrawal cleared the way for former Birmingham owners David Sullivan and David Gold to clinch the deal late last night.

Sullivan has agreed to settle for 50 percent ownership of the club, news agency AP reported. The other half will be retained by Icelandic bank Straumur for now, although Sullivan is reportedly interested in taking the rest of the club.

An official announcement has yet to be made on the deal, estimated to be worth 105 million pounds sterling. The new owners are to be joint chairpersons of the club.

West Ham currently lies in 16th place in the league table of 20 clubs.

[Full report to follow]