[Archived] Rovers Might Have Been Sold?

[DE.]

The only post I saw at Rovers-Mad about a joint-statement was a member called Reckless, who I believe has also posted on here?

Edit: Indeed, made a cryptic comment earlier up.

[RevidgeBlue]

To change tack, can anyone shed any light on how WGA supposedly made 92m US dollars in "advisory fees" last year as alleged in their accounts?

[rebelmswar]

To change tack, can anyone shed any light on how WGA supposedly made 92m US dollars in "advisory fees" last year as alleged in their accounts?

Could that be interest on a billion?

[RevidgeBlue]

Could that be interest on a billion?

Could be - before I looked at the accounts I presumed they'd made the 92m quoted fiddling about with the billion on the markets etc.

Neither of those scenarios seem to be supported by the accounts though if I read them correctly. I read the billion (or at least 850m) to be available if needed but not yet utilised. Hence my suspicion now as to whether it actually exists.

[47er]

Just had an interesting talk with my former CEO. I know a Rovers shareholder so i was able to give my old boss the accounts for the past couple of years for his comment. He thought Rovers in good shape. Financially that is not in relative spending power. As an aside he said his understanding from the rarefied heights of City finance, was that the Trustees do not have the power to sell the club and have a duty of care to it ad infinitum.

If true this may explain the length of time in finding a suitable suitor for our Ewood Cinderella. Any prospective Prince Charming would in effect have to guarantee the safety of its assets at Ewood and Brockhall and, short of an staggering rise in club revenue, have to undertake not to take out so much as a glass slipper in recompense for their investment. The old fox may have secured the chicken coop from his fellow predators then.

Unless of course some wise guy comes along and promises the commercial earth, which of course isn't realistic for little old Bla.....Oh

That's OK (if true) so far as it goes but if it means that the Trust end up as reluctant owners forever, that means the end of the club as a Premiership outfit. Worst scenario-----they can't sell the club but they aren't willing to put any money in.

[RevidgeBlue]

Julia Thiem has contacted me, she says the latest comments on Lancashire Telegraph have not come from her, she says that she has not talked to anyone. God only knows who LT have been talking to,

Story gets more bizarre.

I don't really know if I can be bothered with this anymore but Kamy, where is Julia Thiem based as far as you are aware?

[philipl]

Could be the UK-based agency Citygate Dewe Rogerson have been briefed now and they are issuing the press releases now.

[rebelmswar]

Could be the UK-based agency Citygate Dewe Rogerson have been briefed now and they are issuing the press releases now.

I thought she was based out of an office in Germany.

[Brfcrule1]

Kamy can you confirm will a statement definitely come out tommorrow either way if it's good or bad news. Also what do you think are the chances of it being good news or are you as in the dark as the rest of us? thanks as ever for your input.

[RevidgeBlue]

Could be the UK-based agency Citygate Dewe Rogerson have been briefed now and they are issuing the press releases now.

Oh - ok.

[philipl]

I thought she was based out of an office in Germany.

Bahrain if you look at the WGA website.

[rebelmswar]

Bahrain if you look at the WGA website.

Her partial CV

Been with WGA 3 months.

When she worked for biallas Link to profile

Could it be possible that she still works for them and this WGA business is freelance or something?

[47er]

I've been very enthusiastic about this takeover but its time to recognise that the signs are not good. The clincher for me is Sam's statement that he doesn't think a takeover is likely. There is no way he would say this without the club knowing and approving. He is the lone scout sent out to prepare us for the worst. I hope I'm wrong but I think this takeover is dead.

What next is the question. More months of agony and waiting? This is bound to affect the atmosphere around the club, let's hope it does not get to the players.

[tonyoz]

To change tack, can anyone shed any light on how WGA supposedly made 92m US dollars in "advisory fees" last year as alleged in their accounts?

Well, I'm no expert but if you look at the WGA 2009 accounts:

Page 39 states total revenue as USD 94m.

Page 40 we see USD 83.6m of this revenue is from "Related parties which comprise the Shareholders, their close family members and businesses under their control."

It would seem that Ali and his mates have been trading largely with themselves?

[Guest Kamy100]

As I posted last night there are rumours flying around and that it is best to wait for official statements from either Rovers or WGA. For the first time in this whole process on Wednesday I believed one of these rumours which was a mistake, I should have waited for official statements before commenting. You should all read Brownie's comment last night, he a highly respected member and is bang on the money!

Mr Ali's PR team have been very good to this site, once they are able to comment officially and on the record they will let me know. In the meantime go buy the LT, in it they have a statement from WGA's PR firm in London.

[imy9]

Brownie said that today could be the day and that significant questions were asked yesterday, last working day before exclusivity is over so lets see what happens.anyone got the let, could you kindly write up what's in there from the management team.

[Paul]

Kamy if there is a statement in the LET why don't you post what it says?

[thenonda]

Maybe Ali Boy and Big John W ended the coke binge, got out of the jacuzzi full of money and brushed the punani frantically to one side as they realised the date and remembered they had paperwork to complete.

Quality!!!!

[bob fleming]

Not a great deal in the LT. WGA PR state that the deal isn't dead, despite rumours. Process is ongoing. Exclusivity ends on Monday but it doesn't really matter. They're going to carry on seeing each other.

Even if Rovers come to an agreement with WGA then the stringent Premier League fit and proper test will need to take place, that takes 10 days and they'll need proof that the new buyers will be able to keep the club going for an entire year. A year!!?! I could keep it going for a year!

[Ricky]

Paul, think the statement is coming from wga's London PR team. Don't think kamy knows much about them and probably isn't privvy to that statement.

I could be wrong though

[RovertheHill]

I've refrained from commenting for a few days now but I have some very big concerns about Mr Syed. Before I get jumped on I will point out that these are my opinions the same as others on here (except perhaps Kamy) - I have no real basis for this except what is in the public domain (which is actually part of my point)

1) The accounts that were posted on here, frankly, are laughable. They are written in a dreadful David Brent style and do the exact opposite of what they are meant to do - give a clear view of company performance.

2) The "secret" billionaire argument that has been rumbling on misses the point. If Mr Syed wanted to be secret we wouldn't have known about him until this was a done deal. However, everything about him - his statements, his websites, his accounts - point to a self-publicist who wants to be anything but secret. Based on that, if he was a multi-billionaire I'm damn sure he would be more well known than he is. The fact that he isn't suggests to me he does not personally have anything like the funds he says he does. I suspect he has access to people who do have the funds, but that's not the same thing.

3) If you look at his personal profile on his websites, his accounts etc you will see somebody who is very, very concerned about his image. In fact if I understand his business correctly, it actually depends on people finding him credible etc. Therefore the silence about the BBC allegations is actually deafening.

Very, very worried about this.

[CrazyIvan]

This thread is laughable at times. People jumping up and down and spouting rubbish based off rumour and supposition. As Kamy says, let's wait until we hear the real news before jumping off a bridge or not...

[brian_gallagher85]

I've been wondering to myself why Sam has commented on this whole farce or was he simply asked about it. It just that it ties in with the article from Dunn saying the club needs investment soon. Could this all be an attempt to "grease" the wheels a bit with the trust?

Also, the 8 billion figures being quoted by various sources regarding Alis wealth have been in dollars and not pounds!

[Bobby G]

So Brownie thinks today is a telling day in this story.

WGA statement was nothing more than stating the obvious that talks are still on-going.

[imy9]

Looking back at brownies comment he said takeover was more likely by monday than not, then he said today could be the day, so we'll see