[Archived] Rovers Sold ??

[John]

We can only go on what we have read, but I think Dan Williams is a genuine guy and his bid was genuine. He obviously has some sort of affiliation to the club, eventhough I doubt he is a 'hardcore' supporter. He appears to be a sucessful businessman in his industry and has some wealthy contacts. However, it seems his bid has fallen through due to not having the required finance. You could say fair play to him for having a go.

The club will never reveal anything until a takeover is near to completion, but it would be interesting to know who these 'interested parties' are who we have been talking to over the past few months.

The fact is, you will have to be a very wealthy individual/group to take us over.

[nicko]

You can call Dan Williams what you want and you are totallty entitled to your opinions.

Just a couple of points to consider.

In the three years or so since the club has been seeking new investors or owners nobody has ticked all of the boxes.

There will HAVE to be investment in the next two or three years or you will have some problems ahead.

Williams and his various backers had good football ideas for the club, not profit-making scams. Those will remain confidential in case it ever comes round again.

It is easy to mock somebody who has come up short, but he spent six months on this. It would have been easier and cheaper to go elsewhere. The whol;e exercise will probably have cost him a good few quid and a fair amount of heartache.

I know the strength of his efforts because I have seen the relevant paperwork. In the first case from a totally independent source.

I would also add that the story only came out in the first place because senior club figures were overjoyed about an imminent sale - that was back in the early summer - and news of that joy reached me.

You can draw your own conclusions on why they were pleased with the idea of new money.

Sadly the guy - who is local and with a big interest in your club - looks like going away. If he gets more personal money from his next business venture he may come back.

Personally I think the time to strike was now.

So if some foreigner or asset-stripper comes along in the future perhaps you may think more kindly of this guy.

[LeChuck]

Nicko,

Reading your post, it sounds like Dan Williams simply doesn't have the money to buy Rovers out, especially your third-to-last paragraph. If he does have the money now, then where is the problem? By all accounts the trustees wish to sell, so they must have found something serious in the bid which is preventing them from doing so.

[pick32]

(There will HAVE to be investment in the next two or three years or you will have some problems ahead.)

and why is that is the club in financial trouble, because i think we have some of the best young players in the premiership so cant see us having any problems in the league in the next few years.

[nicko]

Nicko,

Reading your post, it sounds like Dan Williams simply doesn't have the money to buy Rovers out, especially your third-to-last paragraph. If he does have the money now, then where is the problem? By all accounts the trustees wish to sell, so they must have found something serious in the bid which is preventing them from doing so.

It was always going to be a consortium. The make-up of its membership changed a couple of times which did not help.

Ultimately Dan Williams's reason for pulling back is because of his own business situation. If you look at his projects in Africa they are likely to be time-consuming.

It would be wrong to divulge too much of what he told me when I checked this story, but basically he does not think he can take on both jobs and do them justice.

I also know how much he was personally willing to put in and it was a fair chunk of the £70 million 'asking price.'

From an outsider's point of view I felt he maybe had too many ideas as part of his project, but he has made more money than me so I am not in a position to tell him what he is doing right and wrong on those fronts.

I would say that he let himself get talked into one or two things by some of the consortium that messed around with their timetable.

I also have to say the number of stories I have written have probably not helped. The Plainfield investors were definitely spooked by seeing their names in the paper.

The deal was almost off before it began. The fact he stuck at it tells me the guy was genuine.

On the need for investment, don't listen to me...just recall the words of John Williams and Mark Hughes over the past few months. They know the score better than anybody.

It is always better to plan ahead and expect the worse. Then you can only be pleasantly surprised.

[John]

Since the summer and the Williams story broke, the official line from the club is that we have been 'talking to potential investors'.

Nicko - do you have any information on who these other investors are? Indeed, there has been no speculation/rumours on this mystery new bidder....

[EwoodGlory]

I was really hoping this deal would go through

Is the deal definitely off, or maybe off?

[nicko]

Since the summer and the Williams story broke, the official line from the club is that we have been 'talking to potential investors'.

Nicko - do you have any information on who these other investors are? Indeed, there has been no speculation/rumours on this mystery new bidder....

The only info I have is that Dan Williams was told by the trustees representatives that another bidder was in at £40 million with £20 million for players.

If that is the case they would now be favourites.

Trying to find who they are or if they exist. Without success on both fronts.

[philipl]

I was really hoping this deal would go through

Is the deal definitely off, or maybe off?

A lot of supporters were and are hoping a deal would go through, but not that particular deal. Having read nicko's explanation, I think a lot of us have been proven correct.

Now, supporters should look at what is in the public domain placed by the club and not any other source. Advisers on the sale are appointed and investment is being actively sought.

There are wild stories circulating that every club in the Prem barring perhaps Chelsea, Pompey and West Ham is available for sale.

However, I am very confident that for anybody looking at a Premiership club from a sporting bet perspective ie ratio between outlay, risk of relegation and chances of serious sporting success, Blackburn Rovers are easily the best value around.

The Board and Trustees are correct to put the hurdle high as Nicko put it- too high evidently for DW.

[nicko]

Now, supporters should look at what is in the public domain placed by the club and not any other source. Advisers on the sale are appointed and investment is being actively sought.

The Board and Trustees are correct to put the hurdle high as Nicko put it- too high evidently for DW.

On the first point the club have been looking for investors for three years. Have they found one yet?

On the height of the bar...it will be interesting if the second bidder, a story which came from within the group selling the club after all, find that £60 million is acceptable. Wouldn't that be ironic?

[John]

On the first point the club have been looking for investors for three years. Have they found one yet?

On the height of the bar...it will be interesting if the second bidder, a story which came from within the group selling the club after all, find that £60 million is acceptable. Wouldn't that be ironic?

The likelihood is that our current owners and the terms of Jack's will find the second bidder is more appropriate to be running our club than Dan Williams.

[nicko]

The likelihood is that our current owners and the terms of Jack's will find the second bidder is more appropriate to be running our club than Dan Williams.

I'm not sure on that.

Bear in mind the trustees were hoping for at least £45 million for their shares.

The figure of £25 million for players was one set, as I understand it, by Dan Williams and some of his backers.

You would hope that the emphasis is on someone having cash for new players and running repairs for the team in the next couple of years.

There is also the question of the running costs.

I don't think anyone on the inside thought Dan Williams was inappropriate. They seemed very happy to accept his £50 million when it was first suggested. The stand-off after that was because he then lowered his offer for their shares.

[MCMC1875]

Then, however serious and well meaning the Williams bid, it doesn't appear to 'tick enough boxes'.

The fans, shareholders and trustees must realise that the more boxes there are that need to be ticked, the harder the search will be for a suitable investor.

[philipl]

All of this talk of a buyer/buy out etc is all just hot air. The Trustees will not sell the club to anyone that has to raise debt to buy it. They can't as the trust deed precludes it. Who ever buys us has to be filthy stinking rich with cash assets and very deep pockets, otherwise the Trustees cannot sell the club. They have to act in the clubs best interests and so the only way they can sell is if the buyer is better placed to fund the club and make it succeed than they are.

Given that the assets of the trust are somewhere between £800m - £1bn it would take somebody extremely wealthy to come along and buy it off the trustees. Nobody that is scraping around for £40-£50m is going to float their boats.

There were a number of other posts about the same time which were equally astute.

A rather fundamental box to tick.

[brian_gallagher85]

Nicko, could you or anyone else, post a link or even a brief summary of the article in the People, as the one here in Ireland appears to have forgotten about us again , strange as they had all the other takeover news!

[doctorryan]

Nicko, could you or anyone else, post a link or even a brief summary of the article in the People, as the one here in Ireland appears to have forgotten about us again , strange as they had all the other takeover news!

It would help those of us outside the UK as well as there is no link from newsnow.

[nicko]

It would help those of us outside the UK as well as there is no link from newsnow.

For the benefit of those who have missed out on the fun...

Dan Williams's bid for Blackburn Rovers is on the verge of collapse - after spending months trying to buy the Lancashire club.

Williams will make a final decision on his £70 million move this week, but pressure of extra outside business contracts may mean that he has to pull out.

The Lancashire-born, New Jersey-based millionaire's company is about to seal a new building deal in Africa that may occupy too much of his time.

Williams wanted to be a hands-on chairman, running his boyhood club, but he fears he will be unable to find the time to do that, even co-operating with the current regime.

A friend of the whizz kid said: "It is his dream, but his own businesses have to come first. It is an unbelievably agonising decision."

The young entrepreneur has also been frustrated in his attempts to buy Rovers by problems among his own consortium. He has American hedge fund backers and a Candian investment firm in tow.

A leading figure in one of the financial teams behind him has suffered a heart problem, adding to Williams's overall crisis which is about to come to a spectacular and sad end.

Williams has also been courted by other football clubs since his interest in Rovers became known, but he has declined the chance and stuck at his bid to buy Jack Walker's old club.

But Williams is expected to announce he is withdrawing and Rovers will have to continue their search for new money. Their superb start to the season cannot mask the long-term issues that they need to sort out to bring in top players and keep boss Mark Hughes happy.

[John]

Nicko, could you or anyone else, post a link or even a brief summary of the article in the People, as the one here in Ireland appears to have forgotten about us again , strange as they had all the other takeover news!

I have got a copy of the People and cannot seem to find the story.....

[nicko]

I have got a copy of the People and cannot seem to find the story.....

Four pages from the back...bottom half of the page.

[John]

Four pages from the back...bottom half of the page.

Just had another look, the story is not in the copy I have.

[thenodrog]

But Williams is expected to announce he is withdrawing and Rovers will have to continue their search for new money. Their superb start to the season cannot mask the long-term issues that they need to sort out to bring in top players and keep boss Mark Hughes happy.

I cannot imagine that the owners of any football club's intentions are simply to keep some manager happy.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

The fans, shareholders and trustees must realise that the more boxes there are that need to be ticked, the harder the search will be for a suitable investor.

And the more boxes there are to tick the better for the well being and future of Blackburn Rovers fc.....PARAMOUNT IN IMPORTANCE!

[BrianPotter]

As I, and a few others have mentioned on previous occasions a lot of these so called boxes that need to be ticked are set in stone in the terms of Jack's will. No matter how much the Trustees want to sell their shares they simply cannot unless the sale meets the deeds of the trust. One of the main criteria (of which there are many) is that any sale or takeover must put the club in a better position than it is currently, and make provision for the clubs future. Now, bear in mind that 99% of the clubs shares are currently owned by a Trust with a net value approaching £1bn it is going to take somebody with a serious amount of money, and readily available money at that (not raised by debt) to complete the takeover. The actual value of the Trust is not really the main factor, which is a good thing in many ways as the likely hood of somebody with a net worth of £1bn wanting to buy us is pretty much non existent. It will be more based upon the investment which they are able to put into the club, with current estimates that the Trust finances the club with an investment of around £7m per season at present, so anybody who can commit to investment significantly greater than this would be seen as potentially putting the club in a better position (dependent upon where the investment was coming from). That is putting things simply, in reality it is obviously a lot more complex than that.

The one thing to remember here is that we are a club (hopefully) looking for a top six finish, however in terms of revenue generated through gate receipts and sponsorship etc we are now where near the top six. We have operating costs (wages, bonuses expenses etc) of a top six club with the income of a much lower club, so anybody that under estimates the Trusts commitment to the club should just stop and consider where the extra money to keep us at this level (which has effectively has been plugging the black hole) is coming from.

When Jack died, an investment of £7m per season from the trust, rising in line with inflation was probably of significant benefit to the club. However, what was not considered (and there's no way it could have been) is the massive rise in money within football which has left the Trusts annual investment looking rather small. The Trust is not an position (for whatever reason) to provide the club with the amounts of investment needed to make serious impact in todays markets, which is what is ultimately needed to take the club to the next level - hence why they are looking for new investment.

Its as simple as that.

[John]

BP - you have summed it up perfectly.

[Paul]

I cannot imagine that the owners of any football club's intentions are simply to keep some manager happy.

If you have a good one it should be pretty high up the list of intentions!

Their superb start to the season cannot mask the long-term issues that they need to sort out to bring in top players and keep boss Mark Hughes happy.

While I can see the club will need funds to compte in the longterm I think it's arguable we have one of the best squads outside of the top four. We already have "top players" and didn't miss out on much this summer/.