West Brom hope to have new owners by the end of the month after the granting of exclusive negotiations to an unnamed bidder. Exclusivity grants a bidder sole rights to deal with Baggies owner Jeremy Peace for up to six weeks. Peace, who owns 88% of the club, has been chairman for 13 years, and said in February he would be willing to sell “if it was right for the club”. West Brom finished 12th last season under Tony Pulis. Exclusivity allows only the bidding party to submit a formal bid after due diligence. If Peace is happy with the amount offered, then the bidder has up to six weeks to complete the deal. Until that six-week period is over, no other interested party can get involved. It means the club could be sold before the start of the new Premier League season. West Brom stressed in their statement  that the club’s summer transfer business would be unaffected by the negotiations. Since Peace became chairman in 2003 the Baggies have spent only four years outside the top flight. The club reported pre-tax profits of £14.7m on an income of £86.8m for the year ending 30 June 2014.