At least one potential group of buyers has been shown around The Hawthorns and the Albion training ground near Walsall with Peace keen to resolve the club's ownership early this summer.

But no firm offers have yet been made to end his decade-long tenure as majority shareholder.

An asking price of up to £200m – much bigger than originally expected – has been discussed in preliminary talks with a number of overseas groups.

Businessmen from the Far East and America are among those to have shown an interest with Peace now waiting to discover whether any of them will return with a concrete offer.

Head coach Tony Pulis has been kept informed of developments and Peace is keen to either sell or call off the search for buyers in the next three months to avoid compromising the club's summer transfer dealings.

The potential sale price has rocketed thanks to the new £5bn three-year Premier League broadcast rights deal which begins in the summer of 2016.

That figure could rise when the outcome of bidding for overseas broadcast rights is announced in the next few weeks.

Peace, who owns 77 per cent of Baggies shares, confirmed in a statement in mid-February that he was willing to sell to a suitable investor, although he stressed he is keen to ensure the club's future is protected.

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In the statement, the 58-year-old said: "I stated in 2008 that I was open to proposals regarding investment in the club.

"I will not stand in the way of a new owner, providing they convinced me their intentions for the club were in keeping with its traditions and values and their ability to deliver on them was realistic.

"Nothing has changed in that regard. The announcement of a new and record media rights deal for the Premier League from season 2016-17 is sure to mean that there is once again huge interest in the brand.

"It was only right and prudent, in my view, that at such a moment we should present the club to the investment market.

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"I believe it is a sound company – an extremely solid football club with no debt, significant assets, a developing infrastructure and reasons to be confident about the future.

"I have been at the helm for 13 years now and I am proud of what has been achieved in that time. I do not need to remind supporters about the journey we have shared to this point.

"I am happy to continue as we strive to deliver Premier League football whilst growing the club within our means.

"But, equally, if there was someone out there willing and capable of taking the club further forward, I would be negotiate a change of ownership, providing it was an investment that was right for the club.

"The club continues to fight its ground in an increasingly competitive market.

"The challenge of growing our profile and our support base, to try to keep pace with the advances our competitors make, is one which I feel we tackle with ingenuity and energy.

"As I have remarked before, it gets harder each year and the demands on everyone at the club to over-achieve never diminishes."