The Takeover Thread - Recon Group - NOW WITH NEW POLL

[cdbearsfan]

Maybe. I'd guess the main reason that the Villa takeover is receiving a lot more press attention than the one at Bradford is because we are a lot bigger deal than Bradford.

[passport1]

That bank statement thing is hilarious. How would something like that, belonging to a serious businessman, get into the hands of a journalist? Either it is fake or he isn't a serious businessman. My money is on the former.

It would get  into his hands because they had a face to face meeting at his house and the journalist mentioned that there are worries about how wealthy he is, he responded by showing him something that proved he has money behind him.  Given that a reply of "I've got loads of money, trust me" would've been seen as bullshitting and he won't be able to prove to the fans how serious he is about his spending plans until he actually starts buying people I don't really see how else he could answer that question.

Sorry Paul, I just don't buy that. What next? Here is my Griffin Saver book where my pocket money goes every week? These are not the actions of a serious and confident business man. Why does he have to "prove" anything to a random journalist? People with actual, real, serious wealth don't need to show you their bank statements.

I will be happy as a sand boy if I am wrong. I really want it to be true as much as anyone else. God knows, we need some positive news at the club. But this is just bizarre.

in all my years of involvement in business and finance I have never seen a reputable business man holding a certificate of deposit up to a camera to prove his financial worth.

Having said that this is a  football related transaction which frankly has always been seen as a bit Mickey Mouse by  wider business community.

[paul_e]

That bank statement thing is hilarious. How would something like that, belonging to a serious businessman, get into the hands of a journalist? Either it is fake or he isn't a serious businessman. My money is on the former.

It would get  into his hands because they had a face to face meeting at his house and the journalist mentioned that there are worries about how wealthy he is, he responded by showing him something that proved he has money behind him.  Given that a reply of "I've got loads of money, trust me" would've been seen as bullshitting and he won't be able to prove to the fans how serious he is about his spending plans until he actually starts buying people I don't really see how else he could answer that question.

Sorry Paul, I just don't buy that. What next? Here is my Griffin Saver book where my pocket money goes every week? These are not the actions of a serious and confident business man. Why does he have to "prove" anything to a random journalist? People with actual, real, serious wealth don't need to show you their bank statements.

I will be happy as a sand boy if I am wrong. I really want it to be true as much as anyone else. God knows, we need some positive news at the club. But this is just bizarre.

in all my years of involvement in business and finance I have never seen a reputable business man holding a certificate of deposit up to a camera to prove his financial worth.

Having said that this is a  football related transaction which frankly has always been seen as a bit Mickey Mouse by  wider business community.

It's slightly bizarre but, as I said, what else could he do to stop all the questions?

[Dave Javu]

Provide independently audited accounts for Recon,  unblock access to his Harvard  records and provide verifiable proof of funds for the  purchase and investment is on my wishlist.

Recon have never filed accounts, the only details of his academic record have been provided by a Professor who has some sort of association with him, and I really would prefer his bank to say that there's sufficient cash in the pot rather than him wave a bit of paper at us. 

I have softened my stance on him,  but there's still too much dodginess  about the detail.

[john2710]

The thing is Dr X hasn't got to prove a thing to us or the media,  the only people that need proof are Lerner & the football authorities. I'm certain that Lerner / Hollis would have done sufficient background checks on Dr X before it ever gets to this stage. 

The autorites will take their time,  as they do with every other case,  it's not just for us.

He won't fail the ownership tests,  I'm certain of that. We will just have to be patient.

[Chico Hamilton III]

Provide independently audited accounts for Recon,  unblock access to his Harvard  records and provide verifiable proof of funds for the  purchase and investment is on my wishlist.

Recon have never filed accounts, the only details of his academic record have been provided by a Professor who has some sort of association with him, and I really would prefer his bank to say that there's sufficient cash in the pot rather than him wave a bit of paper at us. 

I have softened my stance on him,  but there's still too much dodginess  about the detail.

Fussy

A complete stranger wants to buy the club we all love and you insist on documentary evidence to prove he is who he says he is. Isn't a bit of paper with £430m written in crayon good enough for you? talk about looking a gift horse in the mouth....

[mr underhill]

it might had he not crayoned over the bits that matter

[AVH87]

it might had he not crayoned over the bits that matter

The Daily Mail journalist would have seen the full copy of it, it was just edited out before going out to the world online.

[conman]

it might had he not crayoned over the bits that matter

The Daily Mail journalist would have seen the full copy of it, it was just edited out before going out to the world online.

yes 430 million to spend on the Villa , and thats just for starters

[HK Villan]

in all my years of involvement in business and finance I have never seen a reputable business man holding a certificate of deposit up to a camera to prove his financial worth.

[/quote]

Exactly.  And I would add it's usually the point at which the "certificate" holder is politely shown the door as the meeting concludes.

Even if it is genuine, and he really does have RMB 4.1bn sitting in a bank account, the fact that he flashes a bit of paper to a journo does zero to enhance his credibility, just the opposite in fact.

Added to the other screw ups and questions it's another reason why I see nothing to inspire confidence in this guy.   And to be clear this is not about whether he had 60 or 70 million pounds to purchase the club.  It's about whether he has what it takes to restore the stability of the club and take us back to where we used to belong.  Practically everything he had done so far raises big question marks in my mind. 

And about Moyes, does anyone really believe he's only just realised we are in the Championship?   If I was a manager I would think very hard before signing up at a big fallen club with a new unproven owner who seems to have been a PR accident zone in the few days since the deal was announced (subject to FA/FL ratification).   Same for Pearson. 

[paul_e]

I think he's a charlatan with no money who's going to load us with debts.  Shows a bank notice for £430m - What kind of serious businessman does that.

Some people are just looking for things to complain about.

Provide independently audited accounts for Recon,  unblock access to his Harvard  records and provide verifiable proof of funds for the  purchase and investment is on my wishlist.

Recon have never filed accounts, the only details of his academic record have been provided by a Professor who has some sort of association with him, and I really would prefer his bank to say that there's sufficient cash in the pot rather than him wave a bit of paper at us. 

I have softened my stance on him,  but there's still too much dodginess  about the detail.

All of this (except maybe the education bit which really isn't important) will have been provided to the club/Hollis/Lerner/Merrill Lynch/etc.  How often would you see all of it provided to the public when there was no legal requirement to do so though?

[Chico Hamilton III]

All of this (except maybe the education bit which really isn't important)

You were challenging people the other day to show you one lie, just one lie, that Tony had told. Now you're dismissing this particular one as unimportant. Then there's the bit about him being a Villa fan for years. 2 fibs contained in his opening salvo to Villa fans doesn't make me feel overly confident about the rest of his story

I wonder whether you're trying to convince us or yourself that Tone's a straight sort of guy?

[Gareth]

I welcome the scrutiny. As I said earlier in the thread, at least the national press are asking difficult questions - the local press here in Birmingham is fucking useless.

I've always suspected that the press were quick to jump on anything because of the closed shop mentality that the club have operated under Lerner - no interviews with Lerner etc.

This is the last chance to deal out some retribution for the press pack & some would delight in derailing the whole deal.

At the moment I feel the only people who have any inside track are the likes of Hollis who will have done some due diligence on Dr X and his companies - whilst not being 100% convinced I have to put trust in the fact that Hollis wouldn't risk his business reputation on doing a dodgy deal

[Brend'Watkins]

I'm sure Hollis and co have seen the colour of Xia's money and have not just taken words as positive proof of his worth.  At least I hope that's the case.  Us and journos alike can  make repeated demands for confirmations, transparency and all the rest of it but we are not the ones doing the deal.  As fans it is our business to question as much as it's none of our business to get the answers.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Conspiracy Theory Hour:

I'm wondering if it was Merrill Lynch who dropped Lerner last month because they weren't satisfied with how things stacked up and didn't want to be associated with the deal. If I remember correctly, Lerner went with Cleveland law firm, Squire Patton Boggs to close the deal and kept Hollis out the loop.