TAKEOVER *NOT* CONFIMRED

[Snowflake Royal]

Sadly it will ever be that way in the game. The Athletic are currently doing a series on shysters, and Storey seems like the least damaging of the lot so far. Derby and Sheffield United both went into periods of exclusivity with individuals who went on to be convicted for fraud. Though we take the prize for actually agreeing to sell to a Russian "billionaire" who didn't have any money.

Howe has clearly weeded out a lot of time wasters this time, though he still doesn't have my full trust due to the aforementioned Russian "billionaire".

Zing was never suggested to be a billionaire. His father was the billionaire, but his involvement was oversold

Yes, Boris (his father) was the money man but, as I recall, his businesses ran into difficulties just after Anton had "bought" the club and his father therefore turned the money for his son's "hobbies" off thus, I guess, the need for "mortgaging" of the club's projected PL earnings for a Vibrac loan and trying to stave off relegation with, pretty much, a Championship squad. Shows what quality BM was as a manager to keep the club fighting respectably for so long.

Reading FC doesn't seem to get much luck at this Premier League thing does it?

I think part of the issue was Anton expected a lot of his rich mates to kick in for the second half, and none of them did.

I think his dad was just like the guaranteur on your first rent agreement.

[WestYorksRoyal]

I wonder how important results on the pitch are. It now looks like we should stay up, but if we go on a bad run could we start seeing rumours that the deal is on the rocks again?

[Clyde1998]

I've taken a few days to process the situation and I still feel a little uneasy about the group who have supposedly been given exclusivity. I haven't read the past ten or so pages, so some of this may have come up already.

If it is Chiron Sports Group, their website notes they're funded by Apeiron Investment Group and Infinitas Capital - who both appear to be private investment/venture capital groups. These sort of groups are purely focused on getting a return on their investment within a short time period (typically 3-5 years) and have short term objectives for this reason. If they get us promoted within a couple of seasons, I imagine we'd be up for sale instantly.

There's a reference to IPO expertise, which I can't imagine would be suitable for a club of our size.

The website has a huge amount of corporate jargon which doesn't say anything. Typically that suggests a complete absence of any meaningful information.

One of the two primary people listed on their website (Sam Helmy) is listed as being an investor in Leyton Orient - which could be problematic, due to rules of shared ownership. That said, he's also noted as being a 'buy-side advisor' for the takeover of Bristol Rovers - so he may not be directly involved.

A takeover of this sort will likely bring short term stability, which is what's needed in the current situation, but I'm not convinced by the medium-to-long term goals of the group and I feel we'd be at risk of financial issues again should be venture capital groups decide to stop investing (as it appears they are the ones with the money).

I'm far from excited by this group.

[Franchise FC]

I've taken a few days to process the situation and I still feel a little uneasy about the group who have supposedly been given exclusivity. I haven't read the past ten or so pages, so some of this may have come up already.

If it is Chiron Sports Group, their website notes they're funded by Apeiron Investment Group and Infinitas Capital - who both appear to be private investment/venture capital groups. These sort of groups are purely focused on getting a return on their investment within a short time period (typically 3-5 years) and have short term objectives for this reason. If they get us promoted within a couple of seasons, I imagine we'd be up for sale instantly.

There's a reference to IPO expertise, which I can't imagine would be suitable for a club of our size.

The website has a huge amount of corporate jargon which doesn't say anything. Typically that suggests a complete absence of any meaningful information.

One of the two primary people listed on their website (Sam Helmy) is listed as being an investor in Leyton Orient - which could be problematic, due to rules of shared ownership. That said, he's also noted as being a 'buy-side advisor' for the takeover of Bristol Rovers - so he may not be directly involved.

A takeover of this sort will likely bring short term stability, which is what's needed in the current situation, but I'm not convinced by the medium-to-long term goals of the group and I feel we'd be at risk of financial issues again should be venture capital groups decide to stop investing (as it appears they are the ones with the money).

I'm far from excited by this group.

As suggested within the last 10 pages ….
1. beggars can’t be choosers
2. Your option is to stick with Dai

[Clyde1998]

I've taken a few days to process the situation and I still feel a little uneasy about the group who have supposedly been given exclusivity. I haven't read the past ten or so pages, so some of this may have come up already.

If it is Chiron Sports Group, their website notes they're funded by Apeiron Investment Group and Infinitas Capital - who both appear to be private investment/venture capital groups. These sort of groups are purely focused on getting a return on their investment within a short time period (typically 3-5 years) and have short term objectives for this reason. If they get us promoted within a couple of seasons, I imagine we'd be up for sale instantly.

There's a reference to IPO expertise, which I can't imagine would be suitable for a club of our size.

The website has a huge amount of corporate jargon which doesn't say anything. Typically that suggests a complete absence of any meaningful information.

One of the two primary people listed on their website (Sam Helmy) is listed as being an investor in Leyton Orient - which could be problematic, due to rules of shared ownership. That said, he's also noted as being a 'buy-side advisor' for the takeover of Bristol Rovers - so he may not be directly involved.

A takeover of this sort will likely bring short term stability, which is what's needed in the current situation, but I'm not convinced by the medium-to-long term goals of the group and I feel we'd be at risk of financial issues again should be venture capital groups decide to stop investing (as it appears they are the ones with the money).

I'm far from excited by this group.

As suggested within the last 10 pages ….
1. beggars can’t be choosers
2. Your option is to stick with Dai

Of course, which is what I infer in the last paragraph. We obviously don't know who the other bidders are/were, so it's possible these are the best option atm. I'm concerned by a number of red flags from the limited information we know about this group.

And obviously, they may not get EFL approval or it may not even be the group we think it is.

[Stranded]

I've taken a few days to process the situation and I still feel a little uneasy about the group who have supposedly been given exclusivity. I haven't read the past ten or so pages, so some of this may have come up already.

If it is Chiron Sports Group, their website notes they're funded by Apeiron Investment Group and Infinitas Capital - who both appear to be private investment/venture capital groups. These sort of groups are purely focused on getting a return on their investment within a short time period (typically 3-5 years) and have short term objectives for this reason. If they get us promoted within a couple of seasons, I imagine we'd be up for sale instantly.

There's a reference to IPO expertise, which I can't imagine would be suitable for a club of our size.

The website has a huge amount of corporate jargon which doesn't say anything. Typically that suggests a complete absence of any meaningful information.

One of the two primary people listed on their website (Sam Helmy) is listed as being an investor in Leyton Orient - which could be problematic, due to rules of shared ownership. That said, he's also noted as being a 'buy-side advisor' for the takeover of Bristol Rovers - so he may not be directly involved.

A takeover of this sort will likely bring short term stability, which is what's needed in the current situation, but I'm not convinced by the medium-to-long term goals of the group and I feel we'd be at risk of financial issues again should be venture capital groups decide to stop investing (as it appears they are the ones with the money).

I'm far from excited by this group.

As suggested within the last 10 pages ….
1. beggars can’t be choosers
2. Your option is to stick with Dai

Of course, which is what I infer in the last paragraph. We obviously don't know who the other bidders are/were, so it's possible these are the best option atm. I'm concerned by a number of red flags from the limited information we know about this group.

And obviously, they may not get EFL approval or it may not even be the group we think it is.

The facts of the matter these days is that anyone looking to invest into a club is not doing it as a 10+ year master plan (at least not at our level), they will be in it for a max of 5 years with the plan to sell it on for a profit. That's fine and if they are driven by profit, they will need us to be successful.

[WestYorksRoyal]

The sweet spot is rich enough to invest well, but not so rich they can afford to piss it all away and it not matter to them. You want them to need success so they will take their decisions on how to invest seriously.

[bcubed]

I've taken a few days to process the situation and I still feel a little uneasy about the group who have supposedly been given exclusivity. I haven't read the past ten or so pages, so some of this may have come up already.

If it is Chiron Sports Group, their website notes they're funded by Apeiron Investment Group and Infinitas Capital - who both appear to be private investment/venture capital groups. These sort of groups are purely focused on getting a return on their investment within a short time period (typically 3-5 years) and have short term objectives for this reason. If they get us promoted within a couple of seasons, I imagine we'd be up for sale instantly.

There's a reference to IPO expertise, which I can't imagine would be suitable for a club of our size.

The website has a huge amount of corporate jargon which doesn't say anything. Typically that suggests a complete absence of any meaningful information.

One of the two primary people listed on their website (Sam Helmy) is listed as being an investor in Leyton Orient - which could be problematic, due to rules of shared ownership. That said, he's also noted as being a 'buy-side advisor' for the takeover of Bristol Rovers - so he may not be directly involved.

A takeover of this sort will likely bring short term stability, which is what's needed in the current situation, but I'm not convinced by the medium-to-long term goals of the group and I feel we'd be at risk of financial issues again should be venture capital groups decide to stop investing (as it appears they are the ones with the money).

I'm far from excited by this group.

As suggested within the last 10 pages ….
1. beggars can’t be choosers
2. Your option is to stick with Dai

Well quite

[under the tin]

The sweet spot is rich enough to invest well, but not so rich they can afford to piss it all away and it not matter to them. You want them to need success so they will take their decisions on how to invest seriously.

I think we could reasonably argue that our club is indeed in the "sweet spot" for the type of buyer we're attracting. Decent sized stadium,
15K + attendances easily achievable for a promotion pushing season, and relatively moderate player investment levels needed.
You don't need to sign 10 MBappe's to get out of L1. Just get us out of it, established back in the champ, then sell on at a profit to some nutcase, oligarch or oil sheikh to fund the financial stupidity of the PL.

[Stranded]

The sweet spot is rich enough to invest well, but not so rich they can afford to piss it all away and it not matter to them. You want them to need success so they will take their decisions on how to invest seriously.

I think we could reasonably argue that our club is indeed in the "sweet spot" for the type of buyer we're attracting. Decent sized stadium,
15K + attendances easily achievable for a promotion pushing season, and relatively moderate player investment levels needed.
You don't need to sign 10 MBappe's to get out of L1. Just get us out of it, established back in the champ, then sell on at a profit to some nutcase, oligarch or oil sheikh to fund the financial stupidity of the PL.

Add to that we have a footballing side of the business in place that has shown it can build a competitive team without spending a penny on fees - given we can't for at least 12 months, that is a selling point for any prospective owner.

[Clyde1998]

As suggested within the last 10 pages ….
1. beggars can’t be choosers
2. Your option is to stick with Dai

Of course, which is what I infer in the last paragraph. We obviously don't know who the other bidders are/were, so it's possible these are the best option atm. I'm concerned by a number of red flags from the limited information we know about this group.

And obviously, they may not get EFL approval or it may not even be the group we think it is.

The facts of the matter these days is that anyone looking to invest into a club is not doing it as a 10+ year master plan (at least not at our level), they will be in it for a max of 5 years with the plan to sell it on for a profit. That's fine and if they are driven by profit, they will need us to be successful.

True, although that encourages high risk, high reward decision making. That was the issue with Dai. Had we got promoted in 2021, he would've likely made a profit on the club. His massive gamble didn't pay off though and we're suffering with the impact of that gamble.

But as you point out, there's basically no-one who's interested in longer term projects when it comes to non-Premier League football.

[Stranded]

Of course, which is what I infer in the last paragraph. We obviously don't know who the other bidders are/were, so it's possible these are the best option atm. I'm concerned by a number of red flags from the limited information we know about this group.

And obviously, they may not get EFL approval or it may not even be the group we think it is.

The facts of the matter these days is that anyone looking to invest into a club is not doing it as a 10+ year master plan (at least not at our level), they will be in it for a max of 5 years with the plan to sell it on for a profit. That's fine and if they are driven by profit, they will need us to be successful.

True, although that encourages high risk, high reward decision making. That was the issue with Dai. Had we got promoted in 2021, he would've likely made a profit on the club. His massive gamble didn't pay off though and we're suffering with the impact of that gamble.

But as you point out, there's basically no-one who's interested in longer term projects when it comes to non-Premier League football.

It does but in that sense an investment firm is a much better bet than a single individual.

[Royalwaster]

What doesn't encourage you about them - of the 2 money men, one at least is a billionaire and both seem to have a track record of investing smartly.

Any owner coming in will have to earn trust after the last few years but I'm not sure what else you could actually want?

This. After the disaster that is dai some are now

I want this I don’t want that I don’t like this about the potential new owners

I completely agree with Stranded. We are a club that is still technically on the brink of liquidation so for me any new owners that can prove they have enough funds to keep us going for at least another 18 to 24 months get a big thumbs up from me.

Yeah don't get me wrong - at this stage, anything is better than staying with Dai and going bust. But I'm not sure that on paper they're going to turn us into the next Brighton ... but then beggars can't be choosers.

[Snowflake Royal]

This. After the disaster that is dai some are now

I want this I don’t want that I don’t like this about the potential new owners

I completely agree with Stranded. We are a club that is still technically on the brink of liquidation so for me any new owners that can prove they have enough funds to keep us going for at least another 18 to 24 months get a big thumbs up from me.

Yeah don't get me wrong - at this stage, anything is better than staying with Dai and going bust. But I'm not sure that on paper they're going to turn us into the next Brighton ... but then beggars can't be choosers.

Right now I think we'd all be happy with being the next Rotherham.

[bcubed]

I completely agree with Stranded. We are a club that is still technically on the brink of liquidation so for me any new owners that can prove they have enough funds to keep us going for at least another 18 to 24 months get a big thumbs up from me.

Yeah don't get me wrong - at this stage, anything is better than staying with Dai and going bust. But I'm not sure that on paper they're going to turn us into the next Brighton ... but then beggars can't be choosers.

Right now I think we'd all be happy with being the next Rotherham.

Indeed

[West Stand Man]

I've taken a few days to process the situation and I still feel a little uneasy about the group who have supposedly been given exclusivity. I haven't read the past ten or so pages, so some of this may have come up already.

If it is Chiron Sports Group, their website notes they're funded by Apeiron Investment Group and Infinitas Capital - who both appear to be private investment/venture capital groups. These sort of groups are purely focused on getting a return on their investment within a short time period (typically 3-5 years) and have short term objectives for this reason. If they get us promoted within a couple of seasons, I imagine we'd be up for sale instantly.

There's a reference to IPO expertise, which I can't imagine would be suitable for a club of our size.

The website has a huge amount of corporate jargon which doesn't say anything. Typically that suggests a complete absence of any meaningful information.

One of the two primary people listed on their website (Sam Helmy) is listed as being an investor in Leyton Orient - which could be problematic, due to rules of shared ownership. That said, he's also noted as being a 'buy-side advisor' for the takeover of Bristol Rovers - so he may not be directly involved.

A takeover of this sort will likely bring short term stability, which is what's needed in the current situation, but I'm not convinced by the medium-to-long term goals of the group and I feel we'd be at risk of financial issues again should be venture capital groups decide to stop investing (as it appears they are the ones with the money).

I'm far from excited by this group.

If they can turn us from a loss making disaster into a profitable business that has real sale value inside 3 to 5 years I shall be reasonably content. The strong implication is that we'd have to have a successful team for that to happen - and that sounds good.

[WestYorksRoyal]

A John Madejski or a Steve Bloom is incredibly rare. We're still lucky to have had SJM; our profile, facilities and recent PL history is mostly down to him and means we still have plenty of interest from buyers even in our current state.

Mostly, you get big egos, sportswashing, property developers looking at real estate assets and investors hoping they can generate a profit. If we're getting the latter of those, I'll definitely take that over the others. I'd much rather people experienced in sports trying to grow us for their own financial gain over another egotistical billionaire treating us like some expensive toy to play around with and then discard. We'll probably never have a benevolent billionaire who wants to make us into the next Brighton just because it's good for the town. These guys don't grow on trees.

[SouthDownsRoyal]

I completely agree with Stranded. We are a club that is still technically on the brink of liquidation so for me any new owners that can prove they have enough funds to keep us going for at least another 18 to 24 months get a big thumbs up from me.

Yeah don't get me wrong - at this stage, anything is better than staying with Dai and going bust. But I'm not sure that on paper they're going to turn us into the next Brighton ... but then beggars can't be choosers.

Right now I think we'd all be happy with being the next Rotherham.

Lol true

[tmesis]

And obviously, they may not get EFL approval or it may not even be the group we think it is.

Can you imagine being at the EFL and having doubts about this group (and the ability to block the sale).

Would they block a group for being unsuitable, or is being "not as bad as Dai" the yardstick?

[rabidbee]

That's why you have clear regulations and measures in place, to make it as much as possible an objective analysis and not a subjective conclusion. Presumably, their remit fairly conservative - rather than judging whether prospective buyers are suitable, they evaluate whether there are any causes to disqualify them from buying a club. In the absence of any evidence to negate the sale, it gets approved. And they presumably have fairly limited powers to really investigate those questions anyway.