FPP to take full control

It looks like MadBob has been banned from over the road. He posted something about a conversation with a financial director, with close ties to SAFC, and worries about if fans take their refunds it will cause the club great financial distress. I assume someone told him to tell his mates to put the missing 9.5 million back in as a priority.

 

Smug loves a cheap dig.

I didn't say I didn't like FPP. I want them to take over and I want them to want us. I mean really want us, not just in the SD sense where they see an opportunity, but also in the way that they feel an understanding of what the club means to us as a community. That it's not just a cash cow.

But what I said was that if they are holding out just to save some cash up front, then I don't think that bodes well for who they are, because compounding Donald's ownership by giving him an out (that FPP will take over if we all just get behind him etc) is counter-productive. If they clarify their level of interest to any degree it will help us as fans take appropriate action to (hopefully) achieve a takeover by either FPP or someone else.

 

Lighten up man, people thought it was funny ...

... it doesn't all have to be a half page address to the nation.

 

Yes as you can see I really took it to heart

 

There's saving some cash up front, and there's not being prepared to get ripped off.

FPP could well want to step in and stop us declining further. That would be possible if Donald dropped the price a large amount to a level that reflects where the club is now.

Very unlikely unfortunately.

Which leaves us and Donald tied together in a death spiral.

There is your argument that FPP just don't want to take us over in League 1 which is a fair shout.

 

Thought I’d check back in and see if anything had happened. What is the story about a missing 9.5 million?

 

Have read a few pages back now. Seems like the same old discussion about why don’t FPP do this or that.

These private equity firms operate along very strict financial criteria. You need a lot of discipline in that industry. If the model of the finances says X and you have a minimum IRR threshold of Y, then that is what it says. You don’t go around throwing bids at things like a drunk in a charity auction.

SD overpaid and then didn’t want to take a loss by selling to FPP at the realistic price. Hence the halfway-house loan to give him a shot at increasing the value whilst giving FPP a good deal if it falls into their lap.

SD is not a hard-nosed businessman. He is an emotional, self-made rich bloke (rich by any normal standards) who loves football. That was clear in Netflix second series. I don’t think he saw an opportunity to make a quick buck, I think he saw an opportunity to own a club he couldn’t normally dream of owning.

But it hasn’t worked out. Some bad decisions, some bad luck. He doesn’t have the cash to keep feeding a loss-making monster. It’s all over pretty much. The only question is who and how the next owners are put in place.

I would hope as soon as possible as I cannot see how they are going to be able to get a decent squad together with all of the contracts expiring.

 

It seems like the current break-even point for SD is £28m sale price. From that, FPP loan has to be re-paid, then the loan from SD himself of around £6m. Then that leaves around £12m which is the equivalent equity put in to Maddrox by SD and Juan in the first place.

If someone offered SD £25m, would he take it? He would be silly not to I think.

 

Is there actually any evidence that SD is asking for £40m as some claim?

 

Hi Bob.

Donald has lost all goodwill, momentum and the support ...

... as you say, it's all over, his only ambition is to sell for the biggest profit possible.

But FPP are, as you also say, primarily businessmen who are brutal in their negotiations.

Every millionaire I've worked for has been so tight I've absolutely cringed, at times, when I've been present in business meetings.

They would takeover the club, and put the right people in, but on their terms only.

 

Stewart Donald isn't self made mind, think it's been fairly well established that it's his dad who made most of the money (I believe mainly when he sold what went on to be Hastings). It's another worry I have about him, he comes across as a very poor owner and if most of what he got came from his dad then there's even less reason to believe he'll actually get it right here

 

It's interesting to see the figures, although (and I accept without having the financials it would be best impossible to say) I do wonder what a fair selling price would be. He spent £12m, and he says the £9m went in and hadn't been used (if we believe him). Then there's this extra £6m, but I wonder whether this genuinely increases the value or whether it's just him having to spend to cover his own mistakes (for example wasting money on Grigg, does that transfer fee and resultant high wages really add value to the club?). I don't see how he can reasonably expect to get the vast majority of what he put in back, seeing as we've made no progress on the pitch, have no parachute payments to come, no players worth anything significant etc. For the club to have anything like held it's value he'll have had to have done really well on the cost cutting side. You'd definitely hope he'd sell if he gets £25m (and the FPP loan is left for him to repay), from what we know until the accounts come out it sounds about right.

In terms of the asking price there's nothing official in terms of Stewart Donald being quoted as saying he wants £40m, but more than one consortium linked has mentioned that figure or thereabouts, whether to papers or others. The only stuff in the papers is things like this https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...id-to-seek-52-million-in-u-k-soccer-team-sale where the people stating it haven't wanted their identities made known but its accurate, according to more than one interested party

 

Have FPP been on the blower to the echo yet telling them what the score is?

 

Berb knarrs. He is great friends with all of the Echo sports team. Unfortunately we'll never find out now.

 

The open letter smoked them out apparently had their missus in tears!!!

 

One of his alter egos will pipe up
To tell us

 

Well let's have another whip round to buy them a bunch of flowers each.

 

Did he get banned from RTG? Does anybody know what post got him the ban?

 

This one




“Today I spoke to a FD at a company that does business with the club OUR club.
He pointed out that if the fans demand their money back on missed games it will leave the club in a precarious place, so this is not an abuse page or a place to vent your anger.
This post is for the fans who want to help and financially support the club.
I have put this post up knowing it will get abuse, BUT it may appeal to fans like me who don't mind SUPPORTING the club financially, as the CLUB needs our help.
NOW if you do not agree with me fine, but please at least be civil and courteous.
NONE OF THE MONEY GOES TO SD AND CM”