[Archived] Rovers Takeover: End game ?

[John]

Thing is, speak to most non Rovers fans and they think this proposed deal looks pretty suspect.

Good to be positive about everything in life however this is the most important decision in a generation for the club.

Getting it wrong and there will be no coming back, we could be finished.

[Paul]

This last (Paul) post is ridiculous at most...doombringer..

The trust wants to sell, but no buyer will ever be good enough according to you..so..

This is the options:

Stay with the Trust, keep the sale sign on the lawn, no investment done - championship here we come - and when the day comes, say goodbye to any chance of a high profile takeover ever again...hello sheffield wednesday, southampton etc.

Trust the Trust now, accept this takeover as a calculated gamble..football is changing, and we need to keep up, or we WILL be left behind. And stop making conclusions on bits and pieces you read from a messageboard..

Can I just suggest you read some of the other remarks I make about football in general and this issue. You will find I appreciate the need for new owners, I have said we must have faith in the Trust and I think we could go down this year but believe Allardyce will find the resources to avoid relegation. It's always a mistake to shoot from the hip and I certainly don't make any conclusions based on messageboard content. What I do is think about everything I read or hear in the media and reach conclusion. My conclusion is a sale to VH is wrong. If the Trust go that way I have to accept it but I don't have to think it's right but then I do not follow like a sheep. Money is not the answer to everything.

[47er]

Yes I do believe the Trust is trying to do their very best for the club.

But for them like the rest of us, they can only go by the best information they have available.

And of course people wanting to buy the club will present their best face and obscure their worst. So the Trust's perceptions change as I have illustrated.

It doesn't stop us having opinions. For me Venkys are late on the scene so have been less scrutinized by the Trust and Rothschilds than the other three. And buying the club on borrowed money and Kentaro involvement or influence on Rovers management are complete and utter no nos.

OK-a part of an answer there to Question one but total avoidance on question two.

Once again you have raised the dangers of Rovers being bought on debt whereas you told us on October 1 that the provisions of the Trust Settlement precluded such a deal. Which situation pertains?

[philipl]

Venky's have said they are buying from their own resources, mean it and have told the Trust accordingly.

However, in the short term they could well be borrowing it because they don't have £46m lying around just now.

[JAL]

This last (Paul) post is ridiculous at most...doombringer..

The trust wants to sell, but no buyer will ever be good enough according to you..so..

This is the options:

Stay with the Trust, keep the sale sign on the lawn, no investment done - championship here we come - and when the day comes, say goodbye to any chance of a high profile takeover ever again...hello sheffield wednesday, southampton etc.

Trust the Trust now, accept this takeover as a calculated gamble..football is changing, and we need to keep up, or we WILL be left behind. And stop making conclusions on bits and pieces you read from a messageboard..

The key is the trust DO HAVE MONEY its just that they arent prepared to throw it into a Rovers blackhole ...oops, can I say this word.

[John]

What do we think is meant by this? “It is a £46m deal. I wouldn’t say it is cheap or expensive, but we have to source more money – and we will pump in some more later on.”

[magicalmortensleftpeg]

This is getting tedious.

Philipl I do not doubt that you're concerns for this bid are genuine, as you mention, this is a damn serious decision to make. However;

When Syed came along you ran about stating how the whole process would be complete within a month and how great the guy was, not to mention rubbishing the BBC when their 5live information came to light. Nicko came on here and stated from the off that there were doubts about Syed. What happened? Syed didnt get a takeover.

Venky's come on the scene and seem clear to have passed Syed in the process. You're now highlighting every possible flaw/every slightly negative news article which, from what i have gathered, consist of very few facts at all, and running with them without any actual idea of the real situation.

The doubts around Venky's seem trivial in comparison to the doubts around Syed.

You wrote off BBC investigations regarding Syed and yet now the Daily Mail have come out with a nothing article which Nicko (the only person on this board who posts with some actual idea of what is going on) has already rubbished, and you now are claiming that the bid is falling apart. You're posting your opinions as facts without actually having any proper understanding of what is going on it seems. You fear that the club is being bought on a loan - a genuine fear, however this has been shown to not be the case, why do you keep on bringing this up?? Do you have inside knowledge to the contrary or are you basing this all on a flimsy piece in the Mail???

Im not desperate for a takeover to take place at any cost but when people are jumping on every last possible piece of negative news regarding this lot and yet completely disregarded the doubts around Syed beforehand, it does become a bit frustrating.

[G Somerset Rover]

And you know that how Phillip?

[philipl]

Always dangerous to put 2 and 2 together.

But nicko now says VH have to source the money and the Mail and the Telegraph say there are late doubts about the deal...

My position on Syed has always been a simple one. He has the most money and is able to write off £300m if he wants to.

By way of contrast a £300m hit to Venkys Kentaro would probably bankrupt them.

[Majiball]

Wow I am getting giddy with the number of times people are switching positions on this.

A few facts:

1. VH Group have cleared the DD and are about to sign on the dotted line- source? LET (the official mouth piece of the club).

2. VH Group have said that the money that they have used to purchase Rovers is NOT borrowed but their own- source? LET and an interview that the brother gave in India.

3. There WILL be funds available to the manager in January and a three year plan is in place- source? The group themselves.

How many times does someone have to say "The money is mine" and the club to say "We are selling the club to VH Group" for people to finally realise that it IS happening?

Phillip- Week 1, you wrote a very detailed message from an Indian Analyst who said how VH Group were one of the most respected businesses in India, that people from Pune are well educated and very trustworthy (or words to that effect), the person also said that the Group were VERY wealthy.

Everything that I have read about the group suggests to me that they are wealthy and the fact that they have cleared both Rothschilds and the Trust, enforces my position, speculation is pointless, I would point out that the only people who have been level headed in this whole position have been the trust, so to paraphrase Phillip "Trust the trust"- unless that position has changed as well?

Sorry Paul respect your opinion BUT unless you have seen the DD done on both Syed and VH you or I or anyone else on this board are merely speculatin,g we do not have the facts- the trust do.

You assume that the truth is being told and that the wool is not being pulled over.

You also assume the trust are infallible.

Rothschilds were involved in the Liverpool purchase as well, they too can get things wrong, very wrong. Hicks & Gillet cleared DD easily and what has happened since? "We have the funds in place for a new stadium"

The story behind the sale of Liverpool should show exactly why any takeover should be met with caution and curiosity. First impressions set the tone but its what you do after that, that dictates the lasting one.

"trust the trust" has and always will be the right mandate, but trusting doesn't mean you cannot question the choices. Parsonblue made a great point that it seems like the lesser of 3 evils will be chosen, I really see it from that perspective as well. Take-overs have not in the main gone well in the EPL. Saying things like "top 4" here's 5 million that's enough to drop the initial positive impression created. I'm not even going to start on the fact they think we are in championship. Kentaro's involvement day by day seems to be getting slowly bigger, so far we have been linked with several of their players. And yet they are supposed to not be heavily involved? So why hasn't a single non Kentaro player been linked?

At the end of the day the proof will be in the pudding. Trouble is as always the people that eat the pudding won't get to decide what we want and we will have to eat whether we like it or not.

[sjsbrfc]

I have today's Daily Mail in front of me now and there's nothing in it about the takeover!

[nicko]

Always dangerous to put 2 and 2 together.

But nicko now says VH have to source the money and the Mail and the Telegraph say there are late doubts about the deal...

My position on Syed has always been a simple one. He has the most money and is able to write off £300m if he wants to.

By way of contrast a £300m hit to Venkys Kentaro would probably bankrupt them.

Do you want to get your facts right for once?

I have never said VH need a loan. When I queried that rogue paragraph I was greeted with laughter from my Indian contact. It was never an issue in the discussions at senior level that have been going on for weeks.

And I am getting really narked at the 'cheerleader' crap.

Who was it mentioned VH and Kentaro in the same breath? Who pointed out their plan? Who told you that there could well be casualties at the top?

A week ago you used this as a stick to beat this mob with...now you are using it again for another purpose.

You clearly have something against these people. Or you just don't like being proved to be full of hot air and guesswork.

I don't have to time to figure which one it is.

This is like history repeating. I unearthed the Dan Williams story, broke the line that he was working with a hedge fund and then - for that top-class info - got accused by you and your like of being his PR man.

Do you always go hysterical when you miss a big one?

[philipl]

I have today's Daily Mail in front of me now and there's nothing in it about the takeover!

Three Google clicks- http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1325009/Blackburn-takeover-doubt-club-hierarchy-air-concerns-Venky-links-football-agency.html

and two clicks gets http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/blackburn-rovers/8097087/Sam-Allardyce-remaining-tight-lipped-over-Blackburn-Rovers-Indian-takeover.html

Interesting interview with Mrs VH. Good move to speak and put some things straight.

However the claim about the brother being a Rovers fan seems hard to take in.

And any reports that Kentaro are not in the thick of this are plain daft.

It always interests me when people try ever so hard to cover things up...

No mention of the bank loan question, although I still doubt they would need one. Maybe that question was not asked.

[Paul]

Sorry Paul respect your opinion BUT unless you have seen the DD done on both Syed and VH you or I or anyone else on this board are merely speculatin,g we do not have the facts- the trust do.

You are of course quite right and I wouldn't argue with that. I only base my argument on media reporting and I don't like what I'm hearing. In today's Mirror nicko effectively reports VH don't have the money and have to source it. Now they may well have the assets but not the cash. If push comes to shove will VH sell off the family silver to fund the purchase? No. The money will be debt, one way or another it will be debt and if things go tits up the debt will belong to Rovers. A mjaor issue is the lack of clear cut information, the PR from VH leaves a lot to be desired. Why do such people understand the need to be extremely careful in their choice of words or failing that understand the need to provide clear, agreed information when they do speak. Our club will be run by football agents and I suspect VH know so little of football they do not understand the implications.

As I said above I trust the Trust but it doesn't mean I have to agree with them

[nicko]

You are of course quite right and I wouldn't argue with that. I only base my argument on media reporting and I don't like what I'm hearing. In today's Mail nicko effectively reports VH don't have the money and have to source it. Now they may well have the assets but not the cash. If push comes to shove will VH sell off the family silver to fund the purchase? No. The monmey will be debt, one way or another it will be debt and if things go tits up the debt will belong to Rovers. A mjaor issue is the lack of clear cut information, the PR from VH leaves a lot to be desired. Why do such people understand the need to be extremely careful in their choice of words or failing that understand the need to provide clear, agreed information when they do speak. Our club will be run by football agents and I suspect VH know so little of football they do not understand the implications.

As I said above I trust the Trust but it doesn't mean I have to agree with them

Is this a wind-up? I don't work for the Mail.

[Paul]

Is this a wind-up? I don't work for the Mail.

Sorry while you were posting this I was editing my post. I have too many links open at once. I was remarking on the comments from Rao were you quote him as saying "we have to source more money"

[nicko]

Sorry while you were posting this I was editing my post. I have too many links open at once. I was remarking on the comments from Rao were you quote him as saying "we have to source more money"

Accepted. 'Source' could mean anything, to be fair.

[sjsbrfc]

Three Google clicks- http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1325009/Blackburn-takeover-doubt-club-hierarchy-air-concerns-Venky-links-football-agency.html

and two clicks gets http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/blackburn-rovers/8097087/Sam-Allardyce-remaining-tight-lipped-over-Blackburn-Rovers-Indian-takeover.html

Don't start patronising me. I was merely saying that there's no mention of the takeover in the 'physical' edition of the Mail.

You really are starting to get on my nerves, do you like winding people up? Or are you just upset that the Trust haven't come and asked you your opinion or advise on the takeover?

[Kelbo]

I do wish people would read and digest what others have written, Nicko has just posted how contacts in India laughed at the fact that the VH group would have to borrow money, then we speak about them having to source it from elsewhere, come on lads, get a grip!!

[John]

By the way, which one of Venky's is apparently a Rovers fan? With his/their "riches" has he come over to Ewood before to watch a game? Or has the interested started now.

Why do we always get spouted this rubbish - happy to be proved wrong if he is indeed a fan.

[philipl]

nicko

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Posted 27 October 2010 - 22:50 PM

Balwer, on 27 October 2010 - 22:32 PM, said:

Funny, I remember a similar situation a couple of months ago when a prospective buyer disputed comments attributed to it in the press.

Why is it you've gone completely 180 degrees on this one? This whole situation would normally bring out the usual skepticism in you, but you seem to be drinking the LT Kool Aid this time around.

Syed's story felt wrong to me from the word go. I know for a fact there was also suspicion about it 'in the building.' The BBC did you a favour by asking questions that people seemed scare to ask. It is a 'feel' thing but when someone promises riches and David Beckham I get a bit uneasy.

VH's story is too wacky to make up. Some totally obscure group [in our eyes] with no football interest suddenly find a partner and a football agency looking for a financial parter get together. No publicity, outed by chance and seemingly rather 'slow' on the PR side.

I don't think VH and Kentaro are an ideal takeover team, but who is? It is an interesting concept and one that will keep everybody hooked for weeks and months to come.

Don't get the idea I am going soft in my old age. If this lot don't deliver they will be copping it.

I shouldn't have used the term cheerleader but obviously Mr Nixon is looking forwards to a steady stream of good stories from Venkys Kentaro. (I haven't found the Venky's Kentaro "joined at the hip" quote yet).

And quoting Mr Nixon in the Mirror today- “It is a £46m deal. I wouldn’t say it is cheap or expensive, but we have to source more money – and we will pump in some more later on.”

Which in my language means they have to find it from somewhere and it is not lying around.

Read more: http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Transfer-news-Shaun-Wright-Phillips-could-be-Blackburn-bound-in-January-if-Indian-billionaires-the-VH-Group-complete-their-takeover-this-week-article616103.html#ixzz13pdJqQuN

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[nicko]

I shouldn't have used the term cheerleader but obviously Mr Nixon is looking forwards to a steady stream of good stories from Venkys Kentaro. (I haven't found the Venky's Kentaro "joined at the hip" quote yet).

And quoting Mr Nixon in the Mirror today- It is a £46m deal. I wouldnt say it is cheap or expensive, but we have to source more money and we will pump in some more later on.

Which in my language means they have to find it from somewhere and it is not lying around.

Read more: http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Transfer-news-Shaun-Wright-Phillips-could-be-Blackburn-bound-in-January-if-Indian-billionaires-the-VH-Group-complete-their-takeover-this-week-article616103.html#ixzz13pdJqQuN

Sign up for MirrorFootball's Morning Spy newsletter Register here

Dear me.

I spent months trying to track down these people and now suddenly I am their PR man. It is the history repeating scenario.

I have got nothing but 'no comment' and the sound of chickens in the background from their actual PR man...so I dig around and get the info.

I have spoken to Kentaro's top man and Jerome Anderson once each in my life - as posted a few days back. That makes me really close, eh. So, as usual, I dig around and get the info.

The bottom line is that Kentaro have players and will give Rovers special treatment with them. Good.

What has not been pointed out is that Kentaro are huge in the TV and commercial world. No mugs.

So, like I have said before, it is an unlikely but odd partnership. However - as a total neutral - I can see the plan. It could work.

It is better than the alternatives in my view. But that doesn't matter much because the people who are selling the club seem to have made up their minds on far more and better info than I have got.

*The Mirror story is from about four days ago...some clot put it out again today...an internal newspaper mistake.

[47er]

Venky's have said they are buying from their own resources, mean it and have told the Trust accordingly.

However, in the short term they could well be borrowing it because they don't have £46m lying around just now.

That is a bridging loan (if its true) and that does not constitute buying the club with debt. However VH say they are not borrowing it and as you told us the terms of the Trust Settlement preclude a leveraged purchase.

Were you correct or not or will you ignore this question forever?

[philipl]

That is a bridging loan (if its true) and that does not constitute buying the club with debt. However VH say they are not borrowing it and as you told us the terms of the Trust Settlement preclude a leveraged purchase.

Were you correct or not or will you ignore this question forever?

I am sure anybody who has a bridging loan will be delighted to have been told they have no debt and that by extension the collateral obligatons on the terms of the loan cannot be enforced if the worst happens.

[AlanK]

I am 100% with Paul on this.

Football is a farce now.

Indian chicken farmers taking over Rovers!?!

I would ask " what next ?" but could it get any more bizarre?