Takeover Summary

[BRFCS Content]

Sources have confirmed to BRFCS that there are at least three parties in talks with Rovers regarding the purchase of the club.

The first of the reported parties is Syed Ali, who publicly declared his intention to buy the club and entered a period of exclusivity four weeks ago. This week Mr Ali claims to have agreed an extension to this exclusivity period. Mr Ali's team have told BRFCS that they are making good progress in their bid to buy Rovers and hope to make further progress over the next few days.

BRFCS have also learnt that there does seem to be confusion regarding the exclusivity that Mr Ali's bid has reportedly gained. BRFCS can reveal that what Mr Ali's team refer to as "exclusivity" is referred to by the Rovers as "due diligence". Mr Ali is the only bidder to have reached the stage of due diligence whereby a fee of £250,000 is paid. However, sources at Ewood Park have confirmed that this does NOT mean that Rovers cannot talk to other parties nor does it mean that Rovers are obliged to sell to Mr Ali.

BRFCS understands that the only thing that the current arrangement guarantees Mr Ali is that no other bidder can enter the stage that Mr Ali has reached until Mr Ali's team have completed their investigations. Sources at Ewood have also confirmed that Rovers expect to have face-to-face talks with Mr Ali's team within the next week. These talks will establish whether Mr Ali intends to move to the next stage of purchasing the club and whether Rovers decide to allow Mr Ali to do so.

The second of the reported parties is the Mystery Bidder. BRFCS understand that this party held serious talks with Rovers almost three weeks ago and have entered into due diligence. This party has, however, not yet reached the stage of due diligence where a fee is payable and cannot do so until Mr Ali's team have finished their investigations.

So, who are the mystery bidders? Earlier this week, Mukesh Ambani was ruled out and BRFCS can reveal today that the other party that has been strongly rumoured to be interested in Rovers, the TATA group, has told BRFCS that they are "not interested in purchasing a football club". Initially TATA had said that they "do not comment on rumour and speculation". The source at TATA did, however, confirm that the TATA family (including extended family) are spread out across India and many of them are billionaires in their own right, so it could be that a member of the TATA family has decided to purchase Rovers on a private basis. If this is the case, then the TATA group management would not necessarily be made aware of this as it would be a private investment by a member of the TATA family.

Finally, the third party is Saurin Shah. Mr Shah was the first bidder to declare his interest in purchasing Rovers. However, despite extensive talks with Rovers representatives, he has yet to start due diligence. Mr Shah's advisors have confirmed to BRFCS this morning that he is closely monitoring the situation at Rovers and if rival bidders do not make significant progress in the next few days, then he will enter into the due diligence process.

So, there you have it: our report outlining the major developments regarding the various takeover bids. There is information that we have omitted from the report as that was given to us on an "off the record" basis. It is a confused picture at the moment due to there being so many interested parties. However, Rovers fans should trust the Rovers board and their advisors, who seem to be in total control of the process and they are the ONLY ones who know exactly what is going on.