I guess I'm as in the dark as anyone about this takeover. But having been involved in the negotiations for a couple of major (£350,000,000 - £400,000,000) commercial contracts (all NHS PFI's, I'm not Richard fucking Branson or anything) the one thing I do know is that they always take a whole lot longer than anyone anticipates.
The whole "it should be finalised next week...er by the end of the month...er next Monday or by the end of the week" bit is not exactly a suprise. This is how the legal advisors earn their money after all.
To make this investment work commercially these people need to get a reasonable deal, and that's going to mean negotiation, and that will take time.
I'm worried about two things mainly:
1. The creditors getting impatient for their money
2. What we'll find out about the new owners and their plans once the deal is completed.
I don't think however that people should read too much into there being delays in signing deals. That's just to be expected.
I don't disagree with that but these wankers have bought it on themselves with the greatest of respect. Release 'imminent deal in the pipeline', 'deal will be signed by Monday', 'slight delay but please bear with us' etc etc as media headlines and people have an expectancy that you will deliver on what you are being told,
when you have told them by. I still remember the bullshit talk of a major new investor about three or four days before the early-bird season ticket offer ended.
Then again, what the fuck am i talking about - this is STFC after all. Of course we should know not to believe a single word that we are told.
