The Takeover Thread - Recon Group - NOW WITH NEW POLL

[frank black]

Oh well at least we are going to have the glossiest pies in the championship.

[ChicagoLion]

I hate to try and lift your spirits chaps but he only bought the club yesterday and you have us doomed. Lighten the fuck up will you..?

The FT article is quite a sobering read. However, ChicagoLion made a good point, alluding to the fact that the Chinese will give you what information they see fit and when they see fit. Do all companies even have to publish audited accounts on a yearly basis?

No they don't unless they are listed, and because of the interconectivity,ownership and investments in other entities this is not allways transparent.

[ozzjim]

We've been sold to a guy barely able to afford the fee. Woeful.

[pauliewalnuts]

That Financial Times article is EXACTLY what i was talking about when saying I was worried about the lack of information about him.

I can't believe people are saying things like "lighten the fuck up" or calling people doomsayers for suggesting we should be in anyway concerned.

Already, an arrival statement full of holes. That's not a great start.

[Des Little]

If he claims to have brought the bicycle kick to China we're in trouble

[LeeS]

If he claims to have brought the bicycle kick to China we're in trouble

He taught Doug how to do the bicycle kick.

[old man villa fan]

Here's the Financial Times article from today:

The Chinese business group which has agreed to buy Aston Villa football club admitted on Friday that it controlled only one listed company, not the five previously claimed in a press release.

The admission raises questions about the due diligence on Tony Xia, the businessman behind the deal. He is chairman of the Recon Group, a Beijing and Hangzhou based private holding company which controls 75 per cent of Lotus Health Group, a large producer of the food additive MSG.

On the website of the Aston Villa football club, a biography of Mr Xia — posted on May 18 when the sale was announced — reads: “Recon Group is a privately owned holding company that owns the controlling interest in five publicly listed companies on the Hong Kong and Chinese stock exchanges.”

The Recon Group website appears to show the group has several listed subsidiaries, however stock exchange filings show that Recon Group only has a significant stake in Lotus Health.

A Hangzhou-based spokesman for Recon reached by telephone on Friday, who identified himself only as Mr Jin, admitted the company “currently only has controlling share in Lotus Health”.

Meanwhile, he said: “The acquisition deals for the remaining four companies are still being finalised and should come out soon.” He declined to name the companies.

The Recon Group said the mistaken information contained in the press release had been the result of a “miscommunication” with Aston Villa, and they would ask the football club to change the wording of the statement.

The information raises questions not just about the truthfulness of the claims surrounding Mr Xia’s business dealings, but about the financial health of Mr Xia’s business group, which agreed this week to pay an undisclosed sum for Villa.

Last month, Lotus — Recon’s only verifiable asset — announced it had made a net loss in 2015 of Rmb508.5m ($77.6m) on revenues of Rmb1.7bn, compared with a net profit of Rmb23.9m the previous year.

Lotus produces 150,000 tonnes of MSG, exporting to more than 70 countries every year, according to Shanghai stock exchange filings, as well as other food additives.

Recon Group’s other revenues were unclear as the group does not appear to have ever published an audited financial statement.

In addition Mr Jin denied an assertion by Steve Hollis, Villa’s Chairman, who was quoted on Thursday saying that Mr Xia had helped to build the Bird’s Nest Olympic stadium in Beijing.

“Again, you need to ask him but he is responsible for the Bird’s Nest in Beijing and some of the other major iconic developments in China” Mr Hollis was quoted in an article in the Birmingham Mail.

“Xia was never involved in the planning or designing of the Bird’s Nest stadium. Xia’s expertise is in urban design” said Mr Jin.

A spokesman for Aston Villa confirmed that Mr Hollis was accurately quoted, but said he was not sure what information Mr Hollis was citing.

It could be that the deals have been done but not formalised.  If that is the case, to Tony Xia, he has controlling interest in them, regardless of the paperwork.  Business practices in the Far East can be unrecognisable to those in the UK.

[DaveD]

Nine million bicycle kicks in Beijing ?

[Chico Hamilton III]

Here's the Financial Times article from today:

The Chinese business group which has agreed to buy Aston Villa football club admitted on Friday that it controlled only one listed company, not the five previously claimed in a press release.

The admission raises questions about the due diligence on Tony Xia, the businessman behind the deal. He is chairman of the Recon Group, a Beijing and Hangzhou based private holding company which controls 75 per cent of Lotus Health Group, a large producer of the food additive MSG.

On the website of the Aston Villa football club, a biography of Mr Xia — posted on May 18 when the sale was announced — reads: “Recon Group is a privately owned holding company that owns the controlling interest in five publicly listed companies on the Hong Kong and Chinese stock exchanges.”

The Recon Group website appears to show the group has several listed subsidiaries, however stock exchange filings show that Recon Group only has a significant stake in Lotus Health.

A Hangzhou-based spokesman for Recon reached by telephone on Friday, who identified himself only as Mr Jin, admitted the company “currently only has controlling share in Lotus Health”.

Meanwhile, he said: “The acquisition deals for the remaining four companies are still being finalised and should come out soon.” He declined to name the companies.

The Recon Group said the mistaken information contained in the press release had been the result of a “miscommunication” with Aston Villa, and they would ask the football club to change the wording of the statement.

The information raises questions not just about the truthfulness of the claims surrounding Mr Xia’s business dealings, but about the financial health of Mr Xia’s business group, which agreed this week to pay an undisclosed sum for Villa.

Last month, Lotus — Recon’s only verifiable asset — announced it had made a net loss in 2015 of Rmb508.5m ($77.6m) on revenues of Rmb1.7bn, compared with a net profit of Rmb23.9m the previous year.

Lotus produces 150,000 tonnes of MSG, exporting to more than 70 countries every year, according to Shanghai stock exchange filings, as well as other food additives.

Recon Group’s other revenues were unclear as the group does not appear to have ever published an audited financial statement.

In addition Mr Jin denied an assertion by Steve Hollis, Villa’s Chairman, who was quoted on Thursday saying that Mr Xia had helped to build the Bird’s Nest Olympic stadium in Beijing.

“Again, you need to ask him but he is responsible for the Bird’s Nest in Beijing and some of the other major iconic developments in China” Mr Hollis was quoted in an article in the Birmingham Mail.

“Xia was never involved in the planning or designing of the Bird’s Nest stadium. Xia’s expertise is in urban design” said Mr Jin.

A spokesman for Aston Villa confirmed that Mr Hollis was accurately quoted, but said he was not sure what information Mr Hollis was citing.

It could be that the deals have been done but not formalised.  If that is the case, to Tony Xia, he has controlling interest in them, regardless of the paperwork.  Business practices in the Far East can be unrecognisable to those in the UK.

You mean the definition of loss in the UK could well be different in China?

[pauliewalnuts]

Chinese business culture is different, yes, but it's not like they operate on a different planet.

The concept of ownership is pretty important.

How would we feel if this guy had bought Small Heath and we were reading stuff like that?

[Chico Hamilton III]

Chinese business culture is different, yes, but it's not like they operate on a different planet.

The concept of ownership is pretty important.

How would we feel if this guy had bought Small Heath and we were reading stuff like that?

We'd be fucking loving it

[Walmley_Villa]

It would be nice if Hollis came out and commented on the FT article etc just to calm people's nerves......

[frank black]

It would be nice if Hollis came out and commented on the FT article etc just to calm people's nerves......

He was hoping to light the blue touch paper and retreat. Now he does have some explaining to do. This is all going to come out in the news over the hours-days.

[kippaxvilla2]

That Financial Times article is EXACTLY what i was talking about when saying I was worried about the lack of information about him.

I can't believe people are saying things like "lighten the fuck up" or calling people doomsayers for suggesting we should be in anyway concerned.

Already, an arrival statement full of holes. That's not a great start.

Indeed.  On the one hand we are being told he has a personal net worth of around £75m, on the other we can't seem to find out exactly what the company's global worth is, it isn't exactly visible to a fit and proper owner Board either is it.  I literally googled the guy in about three different ways just after the announcement and couldn't find a single reference to him. 

[paul_e]

No but one small company making a loss as part of a group means nothing.  There are plenty of reasons why a company in this situation may post a loss but actually have no financial troubles.

I do see why people are worried but, as I've said before, I trust Hollis to have done his homework, i just don't believe that he'd be so easily fooled.  He'll have seen a lot more info than we have so the 'holes' that are causing us concern can't have been there.