The Takeover Thread - Recon Group - NOW WITH NEW POLL

[aev]

I suppose what people are worried about is how long the process is going to take. It's the uncertainty; the squad needs a dramatic overhaul and the manager is largely unpopular with the fans. There needs to be quick change in order to avoid yet another relegation battle.

We got our business done early last season though and look what happened!

That's not a good excuse to leave it to the last moment either.

Nope, but I think the most important thing is not when it happens, but who ends up buying it.

That is obviously a really important factor. My point is that finding a new owner quickly would be much more beneficial in terms of finding a new manager, and finding new players. At the moment, the squad is fucked and RL isn't going to be spending too much on it now.

This won't happen though; I can see this drama stretching out for weeks. All the while, we're not signing any decent players and still have Lambert in charge.

It could stretch for weeks, and the fact that BOA  / ML have only been instructed today (supposedly) could be viewed as worrisome, but it could also be that a new owner has been found and it is just a question of valuations being agreed upon (trying to remain positive).

[JUAN PABLO]

yes the one positive is ...

he is not staying .   Lets hope it's done quicker than me in bed with Monica Belluci

[cheltenhamlion]

I think people should chill out. That is Lerner's goodbye statement. The deal is all but done and the new owners will do a grand unveiling in the next few weeks.

Why on earth would he make that statement if he didn't have something lined up? And it would play out in the exact same way as it did when he flogged his American football team.

[supertom]

The hope is that after SGT mentioned we were being sold, he'd obviously heard something and wouldn't mention it for the sake of it. Hopefully some negotiations have actually got underway.

[Archbishop Herbert Cockthrottle]

yes the one positive is ...

he is not staying .   Lets hope it's done quicker than me in bed with Monica Belluci

And not so messy.

[pauliewalnuts]

I think people should chill out. That is Lerner's goodbye statement. The deal is all but done and the new owners will do a grand unveiling in the next few weeks.

Why on earth would he make that statement if he didn't have something lined up? And it would play out in the exact same way as it did when he flogged his American football team.

One other thing, I haven't seen much mention of the fact that he referred to "during this transition".

Those are words that suggest something will happen sooner rather than later, and we're not embarking on an Everton style "sale".

[Archbishop Herbert Cockthrottle]

I think people should chill out. That is Lerner's goodbye statement. The deal is all but done and the new owners will do a grand unveiling in the next few weeks.

Why on earth would he make that statement if he didn't have something lined up? And it would play out in the exact same way as it did when he flogged his American football team.

Exactamundo.

I think we should all take a deep breath here.

[LeeB]

yes the one positive is ...

he is not staying .   Lets hope it's done quicker than me in bed with Monica Belluci

And not so messy.

Enema fetishists have every right to take full part in todays society.

[Billy Walker]

The fact that Randy has come straight out with his statement today, one day after the final match of the season, suggests things (I hope) are well in development behind the scenes.

There's no doubt Randy is a good, well-intentioned man and he tried his best.  The first two or three years of his Chairmanship,  Acorns, the restoration of the Holte Hotel and so on, were very good times and I'm grateful for the effort he put in on behalf of the club. 

Now I hope he can somehow pass us over to people with the drive and means to put us back on top where we belong.  Please get this right Randy!

[Somniloquism]

People are questioning why we had the statement last month and then this one today. I do wonder how much certain sites launching with ITK fanfares and then the press reporting these as facts led to last months statement?

What is the TBAR reaction to the above news release?

[aev]

People are questioning why we had the statement last month and then this one today. I do wonder how much certain sites launching with ITK fanfares and then the press reporting these as facts led to last months statement?

What is the TBAR reaction to the above news release?

Akin to the scene in Parenthood when the clown turns up drunk to the party.

[IFWaters]

I would think potential buyers have been warmed up to this for a few months.

If you recall when this happened last time in effect it was like an extended auction with several buyers all doing the due diligence, managed by the bank and after a few weeks the winner is the one who coughs up most and / or says the right things to the owner - look out for the 'Lerner End' next year. The timing is about right - a lot of transfer business will be on hold for the next 2 months until the World Cup is done and dusted. That said , I see Liverpool have fired the first shot this morning with a Lallana bid. Whatever, there is plenty of time to get a deal done, a manager replaced if thats what the new owners want and some changes on the playing front.

If he wants £200million its probably fair value given the potential and the price achieved for Fulham.

[N'ZMAV]

Let's all hope it doesn't drag on too long.

[mrastonvilla]

One thing I can say is that surely we can discount the likelihood that he has only just put the club for sale.

Look at the evidence:

- a season and more of drastic cost cutting
- the conversion recently of 90m of debt to equity
- him making that first statement a month ago

And, finally, what would be the point in making this announcement now?

To my mind, it looks as if the stories about interested buyers are true, but that the "deal done" stuff is a little wide of the mark.

What it all comes down to is, if there is a deal going through at the moment, then we had really better hope it gets done sooner rather than later, or it'll be a summer of drift, which is the absolute worst thing for us.

I suspect it will be weeks not days, otherwise he'd just have waited a few days before making any sort of announcement and announced the deal.

I agree with you Paulie. As you say, if a deal was close, then he may as well have waited a few days or a week or two to come out with this.

I suspect he has sounded buyers out at his billionaires yacht club and that BoA have probably been working for some time on it, maybe even a season or two.

As long as something can be sorted by July, we should be alright.

Mind you:

Pat Murphy ‏@patmurphybbc  54s
You @AVFCOfficial fans,remember this - don't shoot the messenger.But told no deal has yet been done,that bank 2 handle it only appt'd 2day

Bullshit. How could he have apt them today!? New yorks 5 hours behind so your telling me he lined this all up at 5am!?

They have a London office.

The organisation that Randy is a large shareholder in and he sold MBNA too. He's only let them in on this today? Really?

[The Laughing Policeman]

Right lads, here's the plan.
First of all we need round the clock surveillance at B'ham airport to report on any private jets that arrive.
Then we need Mr. Woodhall's ex employees to spend the next few weeks standing in their usual places around VP with their plaintive cry of 'Heroes & Villains' echoing around the empty streets, whilst keeping a look out for very rich looking people.
If anyone approaches a seller and asks "Is this the programme" they must immediately ask the person for ID, and pass it back to H&V Towers so his financial standing can be ascertained. only then will we know the true identity of our new custodian.
The rest of us can sit back and speculate, pontificate, take the piss, abuse or just sit back and say 'We're Aston Villa, we don't
do things the easy way'.