[Archived] Rovers Might Have Been Sold?

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

''Saurin Shah, 38, a businessman with shipping and textile interests, plans to bring a touch of

Bollywood glamour to the English team and will try to engage South Asians living in the gritty northern town.

A successful bid from Shah could see the introduction of a "high-growth revenue model" along IPL lines, the source added, with cross-marketing between the football club and the IPL through Shah's Qubic Sports Investment firm.

Shah believes the IPL recipe -- a heady mix of star footballers, innovative marketing, a carnival spirit and the presence of popular Bollywood film stars -- could help bring the untapped local British Asian community to games.

Blackburn, like Shah's hometown of Mumbai, was largely built on the success of its cotton spinning industry. A fifth of the town's population classed themselves as "Asian" or "Asian British" in the last census in 2001.

"A bit of Indian-flavoured seasoning is what's required," the source said.

Good luck Mr Shah

[ada2020]

From the Hindustan Times "Shah believes the IPL recipe -- a heady mix of star footballers, innovative marketing, a carnival spirit and the presence of popular Bollywood film stars -- could help bring the untapped local British Asian community to games."

I can't wait to read the MB after this starts..... bloody drummer................

This line tickled me:

"A bit of Indian-flavoured seasoning is what's required,"

Brilliant

[67splitscreen]

This is provided by AFP and is a more complete article than the one previously quoted:

Hindustan Times, 19 July 2010

Indian businessman closes in on Blackburn: Source

Good find, well done Sir.

McDonalds to be replaced with a Indian take away.

Samosa's and a pint on the concourse. bring it on.

[TimmyJimmy]

Yes but is not this 45million including any debts Rovers have. Therefore Rovers would be DEBT FREE. Unless I have misunderstood. Therefore any money coming into the club would not be going to service any debt - that is a good thing in itself if correct. But would also mean that they would have a fresh overdraft facility (I presume)of 21mill

It's not easy to read from the limited info in this news item. Normally when a private company is bought the money quoted is the amount of cash handed over for the purchase of all the shares. Once you've bought the shares then you own the balance sheet. If there's 20M of debt sitting on there then you are now responsible for it and all the interest and repayment covenants that go with it. If you view it as working capital support then it's just serviced from future trading as before so maybe you don't get to sweaty about it.

I read it that the 45'ish million was to buy the shares and pay off the debt but that may not be the correct. If this was the case then the Trust would only be receiving somewhere around 25M for it's shares. However if it's the shares that are costing 45M and there's another 20M of outstanding debt then you could argue that Shah is being asked to pay 65M which is a lot closer to the original figure of 68M being banded about some time ago.

Given that Shah's original approach to the club was about 25M I did assume that the 45M was for shares and debt

That's two vastly different positions though and clearly under these different scenarios the transfer pot could be reduced or enhanced by a potential 20M. So we're absolutely no wiser, we could have tons of spare cash or zero.

I'm sure the bean counters on this board will be able to give you a much better interpretation than this, but for me it's still as clear as mud.

[Guest Wen Y Hu]

Good find, well done Sir.

McDonalds to be replaced with a Indian take away.

Samosa's and a pint on the concourse. bring it on.

My thoughts are entirely on Wendy and the half-time draw.

[imy9]

So due dilligence has started?looks like we are moving at pace now

[Mattyblue]

''The largely-unknown businessman, who has shipping interests in Europe, approached brokers in London about buying a club in the English game's top flight and settled for Blackburn because of its growth potential.''

Good luck with that.We all hope you know what you are doing Mr Shah and that you have been advised correctly.

This is leaving me very uneasy. I cannot see where our 'growth potential' is.

All this talk about 'let's get it sorted quick so we can buy players before the deadline' is missing the point.

[philipl]

"A bit of Indian-flavoured seasoning is what's required," the source said.

Sounds tasty

[chaddyrovers]

So due dilligence has started?looks like we are moving at pace now

According to the article we are. Lets hope so. Could be takeover in the next 2 weeks then. The end of the month like Mr Shah said before.

[andymo]

"A bit of Indian-flavoured seasoning is what's required," the source said.

Sounds tasty

everyone adding something, nicko have you?

[Blue n White Rover]

everyone adding something, nicko have you?

What does it look like? I'm getting fed up of reading this thread at the Transfers thread, and people like you constantly asking Nicko whether we've signed someone or not. Let him post when he wants to FFS!

As for the takeover, if it doesn't happen before the season starts the we will be in serious trouble. If it does happen, we may also be in trouble finding the right quality of players. Prices may be inflated and the new owners may not want to commit so early on. Worrying times ahead.

[den]

This is provided by AFP and is a more complete article than the one previously quoted:

Hindustan Times, 19 July 2010

Indian businessman closes in on Blackburn: Source

Great spot Mr Hu!

Like Paul,I reckon the next few days/weeks should be hilarious on here.

Don't know what else to say after reading that.

Kamy, over to you.

[philipl]

According to the article we are. Lets hope so. Could be takeover in the next 2 weeks then. The end of the month like Mr Shah said before.

Forget it- will not happen that quickly.

Even if Mr Anonymous breaking his NDA to the AFP and Hindustan Times is accurate, they have to make a new proposal after the completion of due diligence. If done properly, due diligence on a business of the size, complexity and history of the Rovers should be a month of a job with a huge amount of backwards and forwards between both teams.

If I were them, I would be testing their assumptions on potential, marketability, growth etc to destruction during the course of the due diligence- if they are in due diligence.

Don't forget this is the second time the press has been told they have moved into due diligence.

Given the style of Chrs Nthnl, don't be surprised if these reports are little more than pot stirring.

Finally, I cannot help but feel these pieces are worded deliberately to provoke the neanderthals amongst the Rovers support to see whether their reaction makes a takeover from the Sub-Continent non-viable or not.

[nicko]

everyone adding something, nicko have you?

I am just waiting for due dilligence to be confirmed...that's they key to the whole thing.

If it has, then this is very serious.

If it has not, it might confirm some fears that these people are just talking a good game.

[67splitscreen]

The race is on, Nicko or the LT.

[keyzer80]

Mr Cryer from LT saying: "Reports claiming due diligence reached in Rovers takeover premature I'm afraid. Total nonsense in fact."

[Fife Rover]

Just thinking out of the box here and trying to get inside the minds of this Indian consortium: Let's assume that they have taken a long hard look at the present PL football setup in Lancashire, and the population size and distribution. What will they have seen?

1. they will have noted that outside the major connurbations of Greater Manchester and Merseyside that there is another thickly populated area right across central Lancashire from Blackpool to Colne reading from West to East which is padded out mainly to the south as well by Darwen and Bolton and which includes 5 major football clubs. There are also quite a number of smaller towns scattered amongst these larger ones such as Hyndburn, Padiham, Nelson and the Rossendale towns which have no major football clubs.They will also have noticed that all these towns both large and small have ALL got significantly large Asian populations in amongst them and the vast majority have no attachment to any fooball club in the main.

2. So looking at the demographics they may have concluded that there is indeed a vast untapped souce of interest and potential there that just needs to be "brought in from the cold" as it were, and how better to do this than by developing the interest of these Asians by buying Blackburn Rovers who are an underachieving but well placed club geographically and which is already well established as a middle ranking PL club with a good record of achievments in the past.

3. Rovers are pretty centrally located and out of the 5 major clubs there are only 2 of them (Rovers and Bolton) that are established PL clubs, but Rover have a slight advantage over Bolton in having the largest ground and the best facilities. They may also have taken some account of the Rovers having overall the better history in British football i.e. past achievements; though this could equally well not have come into the equation.

4.Now taking ALL the above into account they could well have decided that there is an opportunity to market BRFC as the team for Central Lancashire; much same as Theno's Lancashire Utd BUT with a major difference. THEY aim to tie Rovers somehow into an association with the IPL in such a way that it will arouse interest amongst the untapped Asian population of Lancashire, and hence by association also create interest in BRFC on the sub continent of India/ Pakistan etc. This will in time create a huge marketing opportunity in both directions.

That is how I think they are approaching this proposed takeover, and when you look at it that way you have to think they may well be right.

So if they are successful in their takeover of BRFC you would expect them to to really give it their all to get this "idea" off the ground and therefore there should be no danger of them asset stripping or refusing to invest in the Rovers development on the pitch. It will be in their interest to do so and get Rovers as far up the league as they possibly can.

[67splitscreen]

Mr Cryer from LT saying: "Reports claiming due diligence reached in Rovers takeover premature I'm afraid. Total nonsense in fact."

Where, link please.

[roversmum]

"Bollywood Film Stars"

oh, my ...

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Will they/Wont they?

[Anti-Dingle-Brigade]

oh, my ...

What's the problem with Bollywood film stars Mum?

[keyzer80]

Where, link please.

Twitter, and now an article on LT web.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

What's the problem with Bollywood film stars Mum?

Here we go!

[roversmum]

It all sounds rather exotic, ADB. I'm trying to picture the scenes but it doesn't quite tie up with cold wet Lancashire afternoons/evenings.

It's a far cry from flat caps.

It will certainly add something to the history of our great club.

[Anti-Dingle-Brigade]

Bollywood dancers at half time, Chicken Korma dished out by the bucketload and the entire Madras Darwen End bouncing along to Big Khans Blue and White Army.

Why not?