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After weeks of speculation in Hong Kong and Britain, the identity of the mystery bidder for football club Birmingham City has finally been revealed.

The team's owners have offered Carson Yeung Ka-sing's newly acquired Grandtop International Holdings the chance to buy up to 29.9 per cent of the club for HK$234 million.

The only question now: who is Carson Yeung?

Internet chat room users at one Birmingham City fan website recently tipped him as the front man for a bid by billionaire Lee Shau-kee, after apparently confusing him with a similarly named former human resources executive at Hong Kong and China Gas.

But the would-be proprietor of the English Premier League club maintains a significantly lower profile than the world's 22nd richest man.

Mr Yeung was the chairman of the local Rangers football club from 2005 until earlier this year. In recent months, he was reportedly interested in bidding for two other English football clubs: Sheffield Wednesday and Reading.

The reaction from local football circles was mixed on learning Mr Yeung might win control of Birmingham.

'It is, after all, the first time for a Hong Konger to buy an English Premier League team,' said former South China Football executive director Peter Leung Shou-chi. 'However, his track record of running a successful football team is doubtful.'

From his office on the 30th floor of Shun Tak Centre, Mr Yeung is believed to operate a lucrative securities trading business.

He has been linked to casino investments in Macau where he reportedly has an association with the Greek Mythology casino.

In November last year, he was spotted at the launch of the new Tuen Mun-Zhuhai ferry service, whose privately held operator is controlled by Greek Mythology owner Ng Man-sun.

'He looked like a shrewd businessman in his 50s, but strangely, he never gives out his business card,' recalled one person who attended the launch.

Mr Yeung is rumoured to have been a keen investor in penny stocks but his name was never on the Hong Kong  exchange's record books until last week's investment in Grandtop.

In 2004, Mr Yeung was reprimanded by the Securities and Futures Commission for failing to disclose his holdings in Cedar Base Electronic (Group), now known as China Water Affairs Group.

The securities watchdog found that he held 25 per cent of Cedar Base on June 1, 2001, and on four other occasions  had interests  consisting of more than 20 per cent of the firm.

He pleaded guilty and was fined HK$43,000 and ordered to pay the SFC's investigation costs.

It would come as no surprise if Mr Yeung tapped the market to help meet the HK$234 million asking price for the 29.9 per cent stake in Birmingham City.

In the Grandtop deal, he paid HK$65.66 million for a 16.67 per cent controlling stake in the tiny, loss-making apparel firm.

But in the four days of trading  which followed that acquisition, its shares surged 132 per cent, leaving Mr Yeung with a paper profit of HK$124.42 million.

Shares in Grandtop have risen more than 20-fold  so far this year.



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Carson Yeung

The man behind Birmingham bid