[Archived] Rovers Takeover Thread

[chocky]

According to the papers today He wants the deal to buy Rovers to go through quickly..He wants to make funds available to a new manager but reading between the lines he wants a say in any appointment..Lets hope this goes ahead it has to be better than what we have now...After all Rovers was Jacks love not his families..It has to be in the clubs best interest..

[Craigman]

http://www.people.co.uk/sport/football/tm_...-name_page.html

link to People's article

[Mc Love]

Nicko...can you post the takeover news, that you mentioned??

[nicko]

Nicko...can you post the takeover news, that you mentioned??

This was it - not sure of what the headline was, but should have been Turkeys No To Christmas...

Blackburn Rovers takeover wannabe Chris Ronnie is ready to pull the plug on his move - after being obstructed in his bid. Ronnie read the riot act to negotiators Rothschilds last week because of the lack of information being provided after requests for a financial rundown of the club. And the JJB supremo could now shelve his plans in frustration amid fears that his efforts to buy the club have been resisted by some of the club's 'old guard.'[/size] Ronnie was hoping to get a financial picture of Rovers before making an official bid, but he could now back off and leave them without a potential financial saviour. On the Blackburn side there has been resistance because they do not know who is in Ronnie's team of backers - and want to know if he has any plans to 'mortgage' their land. Now there will be crunch talks between Ronnie and the sellers in the next few days, a drama being played out while the club search for a new manager.

[nicko]

There are some allegedly well-connected chaps out there...

If they want to share news on the latest intriguing twist on the takeover front feel free to post or PM.

This has been just too bizarre lately.

[Mc Love]

Thanks Nicko sir, someone had posted it on official board. But this indeed is unbelievably crazy.

[nicko]

Thanks Nicko sir, someone had posted it on official board. But this indeed is unbelievably crazy.

No, there is ANOTHER development.

I don't want to say in case it is some form of propaganda...

But if anyone has heard any specific news on this front today please share.

[Mc Love]

Now you have got my heart racing!!!

[philipl]

This was it - not sure of what the headline was, but should have been Turkeys No To Christmas...

Blackburn Rovers takeover wannabe Chris Ronnie is ready to pull the plug on his move - after being obstructed in his bid. Ronnie read the riot act to negotiators Rothschilds last week because of the lack of information being provided after requests for a financial rundown of the club. And the JJB supremo could now shelve his plans in frustration amid fears that his efforts to buy the club have been resisted by some of the club's 'old guard.'[/size] Ronnie was hoping to get a financial picture of Rovers before making an official bid, but he could now back off and leave them without a potential financial saviour. On the Blackburn side there has been resistance because they do not know who is in Ronnie's team of backers - and want to know if he has any plans to 'mortgage' their land. Now there will be crunch talks between Ronnie and the sellers in the next few days, a drama being played out while the club search for a new manager.

Rothschilds and Rovers are 100% correct in this regard.

No way should they be handing Rovers information to a guy who was a close associate of the Newcastle Chairman and very recently was reported by nicko on this thread as being more than extremely chummy at Man City (which coincidentally is where our former Manager has just gone) without being able to completely document that they had fully satisfied themselves as to his bona fides and those of his backers.

As to mortgaging the club's land, the Trustees might have that option themselves if they ajudged it in the best interest of the club.

This turkeys and Christmas analogy is absolute gobblers- you'll be telling us Hughes didn't get plucked next!

Negotiating with a Trust is not difficult because they have their hands tied by the Trust deed but it seems that Chris Ronnie has been rather dim and/or seriously unfunded.

Quite honestly Chris Ronnie has all the appearances of being a Shearer-type bullet we are doing well to avoid despite the superficial attraction.

[roverich]

I'd be surprised that Rothschilds or the club would have wasted so much time ("four meetings") if they suspected the bloke had no money, they must already have some evidence that he is serious. I'm fairly certain if I went knocking on the door that they wouldn't take me seriously until they were convinced I had serious cash. Delays in negotiations with the trust may very well be caused as much by the trust as by Mr Ronnie. The trust is of course responsible for the welfare of the club as was Jack Walkers final wishes and as such it would be irresponsible of them to sell the club to someone until it is beyond reasonable doubt that the buyer intends on taking the clubs long term future seriously and is not simply looking for a play thing that he can dump and leave bankrupt when he gets bored. There is no doubt in my mind that the presence of the trust makes this a much more complicating scenario than sale of other football clubs. The complications may not cause difficulties but will require time to be ironed out.

[Exiled in Toronto]

I am now heartily sick of this whole situation. I said right at the beginning of us being officially up for sale that the sooner it happened the better as, without any committed owners, we would soon become rudderless, which I believe we have now become.

We were told that they felt they had taken the club as far as they could, a line echoed by our recently departed entire management team, and that it was an opportune time to hand the baton to someone who would take us further.

Up for sale for a year now and the only interest we have heard about is two parties who seem to have attracted only the most lukewarm interest from the powers that be, ensconced in their tax exile.

Perhaps this is because two things seem to have changed. The 'opportune time' has fast turned into just another round of hyper-inflation for players salaries and the only people buying football clubs seem to be Americans who pile on debt or people so dodgy they wouldn't pass the fit and proper criteria of Arthur Daley.

So what are the Trustees going to do when it dawns on them that there is no-one to hand the baton to? Keep us up for sale forever while not putting in a penny more? How will that be executing the wishes of Jack Walker? Or perhaps begrudgingly accept us back into the fold while being equally parsimonious? Ditto.

The longer they have the for sale sign hanging over Ewood, the more likely it is that other stakeholders, such as prospective managers, players and fans, decide that it's not a place for them either.

IF the terms of the trust have anything in about doing the right thing for the club, then surely its time to take the club off the market and make a renewed commitment as ongoing owners.

[JAL]

Why sell at this moment in time when funds will be available through recycling saleable assets such as Bentley.

[philipl]

I know I've made this point before but Rothschilds are the selling agents on a retainer plus success fee. They will keep talking to anybody who pre-clears with them as a player who might land them that success fee. I previously said the Chris Ronnie thing had merely reached base camp- if Rothschilds still don't know who his backers are, they cannot even see the mountain yet.

Agreed the Trustees had better get the Trust Deed out for re-reading and make a re-assessment of how this sale "process" in the way it is turning out fits with Jack's intent.

If one is pessimistic, there is no place for a town like Blackburn in the Premier League and everybody knows that and is behaving accordingly, particularly right now.

If one is optimistic, there are always small clubs doing well in every top league because there are morons running big clubs.

If one is realistic, it is a matter of Rovers hanging in there until different economic realities (debt) rip one or more of the bigger clubs apart. The Trust style of ownership at Rovers has unique advantages which could be decisive in keeping Rovers where they are.

[Alan75]

I can just imagine how Uncle Jack would have delt with Mr Ronnie.

Stop wasting my time, put your money where your mouth is or ######## off

[Paul]

Spot on Alan.

It does sound if the Trust / Rothschilds have said the same thing but using a few more words.

[BrianPotter]

We all know that the Trustees are keen to sell. There is also no magical figure, nothing saying the new owner must be worth £xxxxxxxx or prepared to invest £xxxxxxxx.

None of us know the exact deeds of the Trust or what they stipulate in relation to the sale of the club. The only criteria we know (as this has been stated by the board) is that any sale must put the club in a better position than it is currently. That is a very very broad statement and could be inerpreted in many ways. There will be a huge number of sub-clauses under this section alone, all related to the sale the of club to a third party. The ultimate aim of this criteria is to help safeguard the future of the club, but it is also the reason that a takeover is proving so difficult to complete. No matter how much the Trustees want to offload the club, they can only do so by meeting the criteria set out in the deeds of the Trust. Jack Walker was a very astute business man, does anybody honestly think he would invest the time and money he did into Rovers (or any other of is companies) for them to fall into someone elses hands less fit to run them than he was or the people he has chosen to look after his interests are.

This situation with Chris Ronnie is mirroring the issues that arose during the last takeover saga.

It seems pretty simple to me, unless the sale puts the club in a better position than it is now it won't happen. As I said no magical figures etc etc just a decision based purely on business ethics.

Also, in relation to a section of the latest newspaper article from experience I would say it is highly likeley that there would be a clause in the trust relating to limitations on the mortgaging of land.

[Billy Castell]

No-one will buy us, and unless the football bubble bursts, we'll be playing Plymouth and the Dingles in 5 years time.

[nicko]

I can only tell you from what I found out from two potential bidders - I know there have been others but I never got any details - that there are some recurring themes.

1 - the value of the club goes up and down randomly.

2 - heels get dragged.

As for 'Chris Ronnie doesn't have money?' How can anyone say that when no-one knows who is behind him????

Rothschilds know that answer because he bought JJB Sports through them a few months ago.

No, there is a 'turkeys voting no to Xmas' factor to this.

Having said that something happened on Sunday that NO-ONE seems to be sharing...

[Bobby G]

Something to the direction of the deal moving North or South?

[dellinsert]

Having said that something happened on Sunday that NO-ONE seems to be sharing...

If no-one's sharing how do you know?

[Billy Castell]

John Williams is from the planet Quarg 6, and will except a bid from the Fillutian Empire to take over the club, as part of an alien conspiracy to take over the Premiership?

Is that what Nicko is on about?

[Fife Rover]

The football bubble will undoubtedly burst. It is just a matter of when, not if. As long as Rovers can hang on in there under the present trust arrangements, they will survive at the top table and eventually come out as winners in the finance stakes.

I say this because at some point the crazy upward spiral in expenditure and costs will HAVE to stop for the simple reason that the supporters will just lose interest in the whole shambolic rip-off. It may take a while yet, but my guess is within the next 10 years, before the super-rich clubs find themselves either bankrupt or ownerless.

[nicko]

If no-one's sharing how do you know?

I've heard something pretty interesting but would like verification from some of the experts around.

I prefer two sources.

[Eddie]

The football bubble will undoubtedly burst. It is just a matter of when, not if. As long as Rovers can hang on in there under the present trust arrangements, they will survive at the top table and eventually come out as winners in the finance stakes.

I say this because at some point the crazy upward spiral in expenditure and costs will HAVE to stop for the simple reason that the supporters will just lose interest in the whole shambolic rip-off. It may take a while yet, but my guess is within the next 10 years, before the super-rich clubs find themselves either bankrupt or ownerless.

Why? So the football bubble bursts and suddenly the trust will start investing enough money to keep us up (which theoretically could be as much as say 20 million a season? No. Folks, it is plainly obvious that they aren't interested anymore and there are no magical terms of the will that will force them to regain that interest. Yes, they are probably required to keep the club in business, but beyond that it looks like they are free to do as they wish, which it is quite clearly to f*** off as soon as possible.

[Fife Rover]

Why? So the football bubble bursts and suddenly the trust will start investing enough money to keep us up (which theoretically could be as much as say 20 million a season? No. Folks, it is plainly obvious that they aren't interested anymore and there are no magical terms of the will that will force them to regain that interest. Yes, they are probably required to keep the club in business, but beyond that it looks like they are free to do as they wish, which it is quite clearly to f*** off as soon as possible.

Oh dear, I hope others show more capability of understanding plain English than you obviously do Eddie.

Sigh!! Try again....... WHEN the football bubble has burst (OK so far) there will be NO NEED for massive income into the clubs any more. The players will get paid a realistic and AFFORDABLE salary (just like it used to be) and clubs will charge a realistic and affordable price to their fans (just like it used to be). The few remaining big-time Charlies amongst the players that cant accept this will have to shove-off and do something else. There will also be no more of the corporate income nonsense because at long last the Government will have scrapped that particular tax-avoidance loophole, and the beautiful game will have been restored to normality. Oh yes, and Theno will have stopped talking about Lancashire Utd as there will no longer be any need for it.