Thetownend.com

Never have had ANY intention of selling. They have just been stringing these potential buyers along.

Fitton has just spoken on brunel and again confirmed that he cannot get the deal done- as he cant line up all the ducks at one time. This must and has to mean only one individual......

Heaven help us if it comes to plan B- and we are stuck with these for another x years with no money and no prospects.

I thought Fitton was out the country?!!?

as did i,

technology these days eh.

knowing brunel it's probably an interview from last week or something.

If that is true then i think we all know that this takeover won't happen, obviously i really hope it does but i do agree that the board do string along all the possible buyers, they don't want to leave that is obvious, they just won't sell this club, like i previously said in another thread we need to literally force them out it's the only way.

He was in New York. It was the middle of the night over there.

Fair play to Brunel, they stopped everything to have the interview. Even David Bowie.

What does he mean by Ducks tho?!?  :?

Mallards?

Big Wills, Little Wills and Mikeypoos.

Well, if it is a new statement from Fritton, then I wonder what Bob "duckie" Holt will have to say for himself.

Gobby holt will no doubt say something today or tomorrow along the lines of the takeover has not hit any problems and it will be completed either on friday or next week.

http://www.brunelfm.com/news/29802.html
Brunel FM - TAKEOVER TALKS STILL ONGOING

I didn't hear the interview but this is what Brunel are displaying on their website at the moment.

Not saying Bart got it wrong, cos he never does! but this doesn't look like Fitton's saying the deal is dead, does it?

Well that is quite a contrast to the original post.  :?  :?  :?

DST_92 posted this on My Only and his reading/hearing of the interview doesn't agree with Brunel's panglossian take on the tale either...
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Fitton was just on Brunel FM. He said he had dinner with SSW on wednesday, who insisted he should help choose a new manager. But as yet he has not put a penny in, and will refuse to do so until he is chairman.

He also said he hasnt been 'able to line up all the ducks at the same time'. Which I guess means SSW, James Wills and Diamandis agreeing to the same deal.

And he said the longer the deal goes on the more holes will be picked at it, and the less likely it will happen. He was hopefull it would be this week. But was at a total loss to say why it hadnt been completed already.
-----

Here are the highlights (I really should have been working for the last 20 mins instead of doing this but fuck it), interpret them however you see fit:

"I'm not sure anybody can ever give reassurance in these circumstances, but one of the problems is that deals can be difficult things to get across the finish line. To get all the issues sorted out - and there are a lot of issues here, make no mistake - is a bit of an art and takes a lot of effort. It's easy for people to get bored. It has been a more tortuous process than you might have hoped."

"Let me make this clear, the deal has to get done, something has to happen. It would be an absolute crime if the club stumbled on for another three months or six months. It would just be bad news for everbody. So the deal needs to get done, and there are a lot of people trying to make it happen, but for some reason it's proved difficult to get all the ducks in the same line."

To the question what is holding things up?
"We believe in doing things properly, and that's how we will do it. We will not come into this saying that we will sort out the details afterwards. I think that's been the problem with some of the historic deals: people coming in and saying, yes, we're keen to invest, then putting some money in and saying they'll sort out the details afterwards. Unfortunately, one of the things we're having to do is tidy up those situations now in order to get an aboslutely clean slate when we come in. We will run this club on a business-like and professional basis and we want to know what all the issues are, what all the problems are, so we can deal with them one by one over the first few weeks of ownership."

To the question are you looking at getting in done in a week if things go to plan:
"I think so, yes. A good deal is a quick deal, and there is a problem as these things drag on for a long time that people find more reasons not to do it than to do it, it becomes a negative environment. Nobody like things to drag on so at some point somebody has to make a decision: go. Otherwise it's too painful for everybody."

"I had a meeting with Sir Seton Wills on Monday evening and he was insistent that I should be in charge of recruiting a new manager because I would have to work with that person going forward. So I will be very involved in that process."

Sounds quite positive to me actually,

He talks about the future with terms like "When" and "Will", as opposed to "If's" and "Maybes"

I think the way it says he was discussing a new manager shows something too... Having said that I'm desperate to cling on to any positive news I can.

Cheers for doing that People's, it's far better than relying on second hand quotes. Particularly when its Holt quoting them...

I got the impression from that that Wills expects the deal to be done, so the scuppering of it thus far must be coming from elsewhere...

What i don't understand is why is SSW on good terms with Fitton and keen to complete a deal when he is also playing into the hands of Mike D? Surely he should tell mikey to fuck off?

I can only assume that part of the deal is for fitton to buy some or all of Mikey's shares in the holding co.  So SSW cant make him to do anything in that situation.

i think it's obvious that any delay involved is caused by diamandis, this seems to be a universally accepted truth that has come from a variety of reliable sources.

however, it's unclear what diamandis is doing to delay this - is he trying to persuade ssw not to sell? has he thrown a legal spanner in the works to delay progress in the hope fitton gets fed up?

the early progress would suggest he was sidelined from negotiations - presumably by andronikou - so my best guess is that he's now just trying to throw around what little weight he has left in a last ditch attempt to ward off fitton and cling on to the hope he'll get something back from this club.

Ahh right i'm with you now.

It does seem a bit strange. Everyone has said that Diamandis is scuppering this... but how exactly?? Anyone able to get any more information from their sources?

I think what Sonic said pretty much sums it up tbh.

  Mmm nice word, I had to look it up in the dictionary......at first I thought it was something to do with the pangolin, a kind of ant eater

    http://en.epochtimes.com/news_images/2004-2-23-23-pangolin.jpg

  It was a sad day when the header to post about manatees and other creatures was removed from the Boardroom forum.  :(

the deal is that a controlling stake in the club will be sold for £1. this means shares. so mike's shares, either the ones that he bought for a laugh, or the ones he bought in the holding company, are worth precisely sod all.

i would imagine the pay off for SSW is that he will see some money from future development, but a certain someone else might be excluded from that deal.

total guess though!

It sounds to me like Fitton is playing hard ball and a bloody good job too.  It also sounds like he still feels there are some unpleasant things that haven't crawled out of the woodwork but I could be reading too much into that.  It would possibly explain some of the delay in that Mikey D could have been asked to provide info about certain debts or transactions and he's dragging his feet or throwing a strop because he doesn't like being dragged into line by anyone.  Whatever I'm with those that see this as a positive.

Trouble is it does seem that if there is 1 person that won't be bothered about this going tits up then it is Mikey, if he is getting nothing for his shares and nothing from any money that SSW makes back then he is probably not a happy chappy and feels that he is owed by this fc for keeping it afloat for so long.

In Mikey land he is a hero and a saint and deserves a knighthood or what he has done for the FC where he has sweated for a number of years and not taken a wage

In the real world he is nothing and not entitled to anything.

I have heard from "inside the club" that the delay IS Mike Agipios Diamandis and I was told he is willing to sell to Fitton, but on his terms, I have heard that it is hinging on him (not sure about SSW) getting a percentage of profits if the club ever relocate to a new ground in the next XX amount of years, so as to not lose all his shares for nothing but to have a possible future income from any future profits gained by the new board.

Almost like a sell on clause in a transfer fee.

If this is the case (my source does work quite low down in the club) then I feel it may well explain the delays as they heard Fitton wants to totally wash his hands of the old board members and take on just the club.

Cant say this is much of a revelation as it is pretty much what a lot of us expected. I dont believe that SSW does not wish to sell the club though, I have heard he is pretty fed up with it being a money pit and although he CAN afford to bail us out would rather not bail us out yet again.

Perhaps he'd accept a carriage clock?

If Fitton needs 75% of the holding co.(presumably to gain total control?), JW has 51% so how much is held by MD or his nominees?

(Sorry, I know it's been posted before somewhere but I forget ...)

As for a percentage of profits from relocation, the profit would have to be achieved first. Surely there would be many years of very high administration expenses incurred?

Personally, it's 75% of the club shares, which the holding co. holds (they currently hold 70% of the club shares, so 75% is 52.5%, which is a controlling interest).

The percentage of who holds what in the holding company, is up to who you believe, but JW holds over 50%, so can do what he wants with the shares, so if he wants to sell 75% of the club shares which they own for £1, he can.

Sorry So69, but I thought AF wanted 75% of the holding co., which owns 70% of the club. JW owns 51% of the former so therefore controls the holding company and effectively the club even though his part of the club is
just under 36% ... ennit?

But how can he buy 75% of the holding co., when the club is in dispute with Bill P about his £1.12m, saying it's for shares in the holding co., whilst Bill P says it's a loan.

The way I mentioned above, SSW/JW still keeps an interest, but no longer has a controlling interest, which is passed onto Fitton.

You keep this board, thing, child, toy
You keep this board, fist, scar, break
You keep this board

One of the things I was trying to understand. Depending on whose version you take BP/PE allegedly have 23 - 33%.

Not wanting to complicate things even more, all I wanted to know was the extent of MD's influence over holding company shares. which hopefully is nowhere near 25%. And who has the 24% needed to top up JW's 51%?

At max it is a third, but as JW owns more than 51%, it is ultimately his decision to sell the shares, because prior to the fun and games about BP's shareholding/non-shareholding, it was reported that JW had 2/3rds of the shares, whilst a another person held the remainder, believed to be MD.

His decision granted, but it doesn't give AF 75% which I believe is needed in a takeover situation to give the new owner unconditional control.

Any buy out specialists out there?