[Archived] Rovers STILL not sold.

[nicko]

[/s]r' date='20 September 2010 - 14:22 PM' timestamp='1284988930' post='957532']

Who is the vibe coming from, the buyers or the sellers (I presume)?

People close to it are just a bit sceptical...I think the buyers would have to pledge some big deal all round to make this happen.

Getting truly fed up with it myself, but this is a massive issue so obliged to keep an interest.

[tony gale's mic]

People close to it are just a bit sceptical...I think the buyers would have to pledge some big deal all round to make this happen.

Getting truly fed up with it myself, but this is a massive issue so obliged to keep an interest.

I thought what they'd already told the media sounded like a pretty "big deal"?

[67splitscreen]

No idea how far the other mystery Indians or the Aussies are down the line.

Did you not break the Indian story, has your Indian source dried up then?. or was your source BRFCS?, via PM's.

[philipl]

So then it's true that our owners are asking a hell of a lot more than first thought. Sold or not, Big Sam needs more backing from the owners in the transfer market - it's not like the trust are skint, correct?

Why do you say that?

We know a Heads of Agreement with sale terms was signed five weeks ago with Ali Syed.

Since then, 5live Investigates has complicated selling to Ali Syed to say the least but the extension of his due diligence period indicates the Trust are happy he is through that- otherwise they'd have let the four weeks expire and waved him good bye.

And Mr Mystery has stepped up to the plate and Saurin Shah remains totally determined to buy if the bigger guys don't go through with their deals.

Not going to cite my source but the negotiators are using the competitive pressure to up the deal for the amount and the certainty of what goes into the Rovers.

And that is a VERY GOOD THING.

Good things come to those who wait....

[Iceman]

I did say 'part.'

Things that take this long rarely happen.

Shah was in the mix for weeks before he became public and faded away slowly.

Syed came in with a blaze of publicity and promises of a quick deal...and it still drags.

No idea how far the other mystery Indians or the Aussies are down the line.

However there is a vibe about 'is it worth it?' around in certain quarters.

If its the buyers, then i find that very strange. If Syed has had this thought, then i cannot understand, why they felt the need to have the DD extended. Again, Syed and his people have made so much noise, that to back out now, would seem strange, unless the post by Rev was indeed true. If the trust, have pushed up the asking price, then i can understand why any potential buyer would walk away. The trust want rid, so if they are being sneaky and pushing the price up all the time, then its no wonder we cannot find a buyer.

[Torgeir]

Since then, 5live Investigates has complicated selling to Ali Syed to say the least but the extension of his due diligence period indicates the Trust are happy he is through that- otherwise they'd have let the four weeks expire and waved him good bye.

Has the club come out and actually confirmed that this is true?

I must admit the whole process is a bit confusing, I wasn't aware that they had agreed as much as you claim.

[philipl]

If the Trust had not extended Syed's due diligence period, they would have denied his press release of last Thursday by now. And if they thought Ali Syed was a total bounder, they would not have extended his due diligence period because they have two other bidders queueing up to take his place.

If we relied on words from the club only we would be no further forward than the club statement of 17 August; the only statement they have made.

[only2garners]

Things that take this long rarely happen.

Whilst that might be true in football, in wider business there is nothing exceptional about the length of time the due diligence process is taking. Even WGA, who talked of doing a quick deal, regard 6 weeks as the norm for due diligence.

[LeChuck]

Things that take this long rarely happen.

It took Carson Yeung ages to get control of Birmingham didn't it? I'm sure it was at least a year.

[T4E]

I think you're one of the better posters T4E but I dont think you've shown this particularly poster any respect at all by refering to him that way.

He's one on here that actually does deserve some respect.

Just my opinion like

No offence intended - it was intended to be light hearted and point out that we were perhaps starting to take things a little too seriously.

I fully accept that I am sometimes a boring old fart from the perspective of probably the majority of posters on here. That comes witht the territory of being a septaganarian, (and don't forget that it will eventually come to each one of you). However one thing I hope I am not and never will be is a heartless uncaring so-and-so. There are a few on here that would do well to give that thought some consideration.

Not at all Fife, I enjoy your posts, you bring a different perspective to mine but it's always worth a read. I just thought that perhaps it was a slight overreaction, I think we all know Iceman is not the malicious type.

[Kelbo]

If its the buyers, then i find that very strange. If Syed has had this thought, then i cannot understand, why they felt the need to have the DD extended. Again, Syed and his people have made so much noise, that to back out now, would seem strange, unless the post by Rev was indeed true. If the trust, have pushed up the asking price, then i can understand why any potential buyer would walk away. The trust want rid, so if they are being sneaky and pushing the price up all the time, then its no wonder we cannot find a buyer.

I would have thought it quite improper for the trust to have pushed the asking price up, indeed, I would believe the price to have been agreed in principle prior to the due diligence period, surley there would be the claim of £250,000 straight away if the trust moved the goalposts, unless of course another bidder has offered more, that could create problems in itself as if another bidder goes into due diligence, looks at the books and says 'hey, it aint worth that much' and walk away, where do the club go from there?

[philipl]

I'll stick my neck out.

The price to be paid to the Trust will not have gone up form 5 weeks ago.

What is to be paid to the Rovers might well be going up.

[nicko]

Did you not break the Indian story, has your Indian source dried up then?. or was your source BRFCS?, via PM's.

Yes, I did get the first nibble at that story...from a contact in the game...but he has heard little lately to think it is moving on apace.

Whilst that might be true in football, in wider business there is nothing exceptional about the length of time the due diligence process is taking. Even WGA, who talked of doing a quick deal, regard 6 weeks as the norm for due diligence.

WGA wanted to do a deal double-quick in August as I recall.

This is now a lot later and little progress has been made.

[Guest bluerovers]

It took Carson Yeung ages to get control of Birmingham didn't it? I'm sure it was at least a year.

Yeung tried to buy Brum in 2007 but failed to come up with money so it fell through, in August 09 they bough 27% of the shares in the club and it took three months to buy the remaining shares, taking full control in October.

So it took nearly 3 years or 3 months depending on which way you look at it...

[b12_simon]

It took Carson Yeung ages to get control of Birmingham didn't it? I'm sure it was at least a year.

IIRC Big Club weren't looking for new owners or, at least, weren't looking quite as actively as we are.

These things do take time, though. Patience, all. Patience.

[nicko]

It took Carson Yeung ages to get control of Birmingham didn't it? I'm sure it was at least a year.

You can't compare that to the Rovers situation. He bought a chunk of the club and coould not afford the rext for over a year or so.

At least with Rovers it's a clean deal - you come up with the dough and move onwards and hopefully upwards.

[Guest bluerovers]

You can't compare that to the Rovers situation. He bought a chunk of the club and coould not afford the rext for over a year or so.

At least with Rovers it's a clean deal - you come up with the dough and move onwards and hopefully upwards.

To be fair there are various people in the trust who all need to say yes so it's not that clean cut.

[nicko]

To be fair there are various people in the trust who all need to say yes so it's not that clean cut.

Granted. Possibly even relevant just now too. But I would far rather try to persuade Rovers to do a deal than cut through the mess that was Birmingham City at the time Yeung tried it.

[Guest bluerovers]

Out of interest do you (nicko or anyone) know how many people are in the trust and if they are all Jack's immediate family and Rovers fans? All you need is one of them to act like an idiot or ask for too much to see the deal fall through...

[67splitscreen]

Surely the trust is now one voice, all the debate will have been done a long time ago........ do we sell......how much......the criteria set out and approved......

Right person .... right investment, ....... short and long term.

Buy out of other shareholdings, tea and biscuits at the PL ....

Merry Christmas.

[Guest bluerovers]

Surely the trust is now one voice, all the debate will have been done a long time ago........ do we sell......how much......the criteria set out and approved......

Agreed but who to sell to maybe a result of in-fighting now. The BBC allegations of Syed weren't there a long time ago when the trust would have agreed on the things you stated. It is possible that the trust are split on whether to sell to Mr Syed or not.

This is pure speculation of course but what else have we got right now?

[philipl]

Bluerovers, it is pure speculation and not accurate.

The Trust have got difficulties in selling as other posters have said down the years on this MB. People who have not posted on here for a long time but with far better access than I have ever had have explained what is entailed in selling the Rovers and how the Settlement document prescribes the actions of the Trustees.

But those difficulties would have been worked through by the Trustees and a united front prepared before the club was put up for sale three years ago.

As for having to sell to somebody with a 100% spotless record in business. Did Jack and Fred achieve what they did without being "cute" a few times? By the standards of very successful self-made men they had/have very high morals but...

In the absence of Kamy, this thread is in danger of losing the plot at the moment. This is not taking a long time by the standards of a contested sale of a £50m+ business- to suggest otherwise is nonsense.

My best guess for what it is worth; the Syed bid will come to a head within the next two weeks and he is back as being odds on favourite to acquire Rovers.

[Steve Moss]

People close to it are just a bit sceptical...I think the buyers would have to pledge some big deal all round to make this happen.

Getting truly fed up with it myself, but this is a massive issue so obliged to keep an interest.

Pledge as in make a written promise or pledge as in putting up collaterol to ensure the written promises are followed through on?

I may be a cynic (my line of work leads to that) by a promise backed up by collaterol is far more concrete, than a promise which may be changed based on future circumstances.

I thought what they'd already told the media sounded like a pretty "big deal"?

Talk is cheap. Collaterol is not. If I were the seller who loved the club but felt it was time to part ways, I'd make the 300 million "big deal" talker pledge the cash as collaterol to make sure the promise to invest was followed through on. And then lock down the ability to acquire debt or sell the club's physical assets for a number of years (far more then the 2-3 agreed upon by Gillete and Hicks). Between those 2 requirements, the club should be able to sort the wheat from the chaff pretty effectively.

I don't know whether the club has imposed either or both conditions. But both to prevent a Portsmouth and to honor Jack Walker's legacy either one should be a no brainer.

[Guest bluerovers]

Bluerovers, it is pure speculation and not accurate.

The Trust have got difficulties in selling as other posters have said down the years on this MB. People who have not posted on here for a long time but with far better access than I have ever had have explained what is entailed in selling the Rovers and how the Settlement document prescribes the actions of the Trustees.

But those difficulties would have been worked through by the Trustees and a united front prepared before the club was put up for sale three years ago.

Agreed up to this point....

As for having to sell to somebody with a 100% spotless record in business. Did Jack and Fred achieve what they did without being "cute" a few times? By the standards of very successful self-made men they had/have very high morals but...

That doesn't answer the hypothetical scenario I painted. What IF most of the trust are happy to sell to Syed as he's proved his got the money to pay them off but not proved he can meet the big promises made in the media and what IF one or two members of the Trust aren't happy as they have some affection for Rovers and that is holding the sale up. Why is that impossible or "not accurate"?

As said I'm speculating as unlike you I'm not claiming to KNOW what's going on.

In the absence of Kamy, this thread is in danger of losing the plot at the moment.

We have the news thread set up and people are still moaning about the content of this thread. One question, if you know so much about what's going on why not just tell us eveything instead of dropping dubious, vague and ambigous hints; do you have a job to protect or something?

This is not taking a long time by the standards of a contested sale of a £50m+ business- to suggest otherwise is nonsense.

Why are you comparing it by value? Surely you should compare by industry and I remember Villa only took about 3 weeks to complete, Man City was 2 or something silly like that and Portsmouth got taken over 3 times in the space of 6 months!

Sorry but 5 weeks on from DD starting on a privately owned Football Club and still no offer (let alone no Owners & Directors Test application) is a long time by Premiership standards.

My best guess for what it is worth; the Syed bid will come to a head within the next two weeks and he is back as being odds on favourite to acquire Rovers.

So you're allowed to speculate but not I?

[philipl]

Given what is going on in the background at present and how Kamy withdrew, I am not going to give reasons or any further information than what I am posting.

1) There will be no split amongst the Trustees. It is just not going to happen. So forget about even putting that up as a scenario.

2) This is a transaction between a general investment corporation WGA buying from a general holding Trust with at least two competing counter offers. In that context, this is going remarkably quickly- the PL context doesn't apply because neither party is whatever passes for a traditional PL club owner.

3) Syed's bid has been on the table for at least five weeks- he would not have got to a Due Diligence Memorandum of Understanding and Heads of Agreement for sale without submitting an offer subject to and the Trust considering it to be acceptable subject to. The Trust has at least three other offers on the table as well- all subject to due diligence.

4) The Owners and Directors Test is by now a formality for all the bidders given what I understand the test really boils down to. They will all walk it.

5) From what I can see Syed is playing an absolute blinder.

I have a lot of experience of buying and selling companies, advising on corporate sales and working with Trusts.