The Takeover Thread - Recon Group - NOW WITH NEW POLL

[villadelph]

Where was that published?

"Seventy-five million pounds is not a big investment," Xia told Caixin.

To raise the cash, Xia said, privately held Recon tapped the bank accounts of two subsidiaries: Shanghai-listed Lotus Health Industry Holding Group, and Shenzhen-listed Teamax Smart City Technology Corp. Ltd.

http://english.caixin.com/2016-05-20/100946170.html

From that article:

American billionaire Randy Lerner, who bought Aston Villa in 2006 for 62.2 million pounds, put the club up for sale in 2014. Six companies showed interest, Xia said, but the final competing bidders were Recon and the American software company Oracle Corp.

Holy shit, the Larry Ellison links were true. Damnit we could've had a bazillionaire.

[nigel]

Where was that published?

"Seventy-five million pounds is not a big investment," Xia told Caixin.

To raise the cash, Xia said, privately held Recon tapped the bank accounts of two subsidiaries: Shanghai-listed Lotus Health Industry Holding Group, and Shenzhen-listed Teamax Smart City Technology Corp. Ltd.

http://english.caixin.com/2016-05-20/100946170.html

From that article:

American billionaire Randy Lerner, who bought Aston Villa in 2006 for 62.2 million pounds, put the club up for sale in 2014. Six companies showed interest, Xia said, but the final competing bidders were Recon and the American software company Oracle Corp.

Holy shit, the Larry Ellison links were true. Damnit we could've had a bazillionaire.

I still believe that Lerner had the clubs best interests at heart and would not have sold us to Xia if he thought Ellison had a better bid.

[OCD]

In that case, Ellison will probably end up buying someone else and we'll see then who the better owner would have been. So far though, you can't fault Xia and Ellison may be incredibly wealthy but football isn't a sport that he's personally interested in so he may have been less visible than even Lerner. I imagine if both parties had made the same presentations, Lerner would have rather sold to a fellow American.

[ciggiesnbeer]

Genuinely surprised Ellison was actually interested. I mocked the notion at the time.

[Scott Nielsen]

Genuinely surprised Ellison was actually interested. I mocked the notion at the time.

I still do.

[KevinGage]

Where was that published?

"Seventy-five million pounds is not a big investment," Xia told Caixin.

To raise the cash, Xia said, privately held Recon tapped the bank accounts of two subsidiaries: Shanghai-listed Lotus Health Industry Holding Group, and Shenzhen-listed Teamax Smart City Technology Corp. Ltd.

http://english.caixin.com/2016-05-20/100946170.html

From that article:

American billionaire Randy Lerner, who bought Aston Villa in 2006 for 62.2 million pounds, put the club up for sale in 2014. Six companies showed interest, Xia said, but the final competing bidders were Recon and the American software company Oracle Corp.

Holy shit, the Larry Ellison links were true. Damnit we could've had a bazillionaire.

Bazzillionaires don't get rich by writing a load of cheques.

I guess it all depends on Ellison's motivation for buying the thing.

If it was just as an investment -putting a reasonable amount in, but ultimately wanting to take advantage of the cash cow that is modern PL football and banking a large chunk of the TV deals further on down the track, we wouldn't be sticking two fingers up to FFP and going for it.

With the mysterious doctor, we don't know his true motivation either.

It has been suggested he is a Chinese plant; a government stooge placed at one of the UK biggest clubs to get some idea as to how the industry truly works.

That sounds as bit far fetched for me.  Far more likely is that he is a young businessman on the up who wants to make an impression with the powers that be in his homeland. They've made it clear football is the new black, so what better way to get in with them than to make a success of the Villa gig and make a name for himself abroad.   Even trying and failing might have some merit, should they need to call on him and seek his opinion on things to avoid (twitter, twitter, twitter).

[Billy Walker]

If the 3 billion dollar  US logistic company deal happens - as stated in the Daily Mail piece - I will really start to dream about the financial and business potential we have with Xia at the helm. The guy might personally not be as wealthy as  Roman A but such a deal would show RECON to be a far bigger player than the Russian.

[OCD]

If the 3 billion dollar  US logistic company deal happens - as stated in the Daily Mail piece - I will really start to dream about the financial and business potential we have with Xia at the helm. The guy might personally not be as wealthy as  Roman A but such a deal would show RECON to be a far bigger player than the Russian.

Is that from a new piece? If so, do you have a link?

[nigel]

If the 3 billion dollar  US logistic company deal happens - as stated in the Daily Mail piece - I will really start to dream about the financial and business potential we have with Xia at the helm. The guy might personally not be as wealthy as  Roman A but such a deal would show RECON to be a far bigger player than the Russian.

Is that from a new piece? If so, do you have a link?

Kippax quoted something about 20 posts previous to this one.
It was also mentioned during his take over bid which would be earlier in thread

[Brend'Watkins]

Where was that published?

"Seventy-five million pounds is not a big investment," Xia told Caixin.

To raise the cash, Xia said, privately held Recon tapped the bank accounts of two subsidiaries: Shanghai-listed Lotus Health Industry Holding Group, and Shenzhen-listed Teamax Smart City Technology Corp. Ltd.

http://english.caixin.com/2016-05-20/100946170.html

From that article:

American billionaire Randy Lerner, who bought Aston Villa in 2006 for 62.2 million pounds, put the club up for sale in 2014. Six companies showed interest, Xia said, but the final competing bidders were Recon and the American software company Oracle Corp.

Holy shit, the Larry Ellison links were true. Damnit we could've had a bazillionaire.

Bazzillionaires don't get rich by writing a load of cheques.

I guess it all depends on Ellison's motivation for buying the thing.

If it was just as an investment -putting a reasonable amount in, but ultimately wanting to take advantage of the cash cow that is modern PL football and banking a large chunk of the TV deals further on down the track, we wouldn't be sticking two fingers up to FFP and going for it.

With the mysterious doctor, we don't know his true motivation either.

It has been suggested he is a Chinese plant; a government stooge placed at one of the UK biggest clubs to get some idea as to how the industry truly works.

That sounds as bit far fetched for me.  Far more likely is that he is a young businessman on the up who wants to make an impression with the powers that be in his homeland. They've made it clear football is the new black, so what better way to get in with them than to make a success of the Villa gig and make a name for himself abroad.   Even trying and failing might have some merit, should they need to call on him and seek his opinion on things to avoid (twitter, twitter, twitter).

You might be on the right track with Xia making a name for himself. He'll have more of a chance of making that a reality much quicker if he manages to take a big club back up at the first attempt rather than taking on a club that floats around the lower reaches of the Prem. I'm not saying that was the plan all along, more that our relegation may be in his favour. Had we not gone down his spend would have had to have been double on transfer fees to make any positive impact in China such was the state of our squad.

[ChicagoLion]

An article in the Telegraph pointed out the potential risks with Chinese ownership now that a number of clubs are thus.
They discussed the problems of a lack of transparency, front men disappearing to be replaced without explanation and no one having any idea of who is in controll and where the money is comming from.

[Jarpie]

Afaik making money from sports clubs/teams is very much a big gamble, even with the new tv-money as you need to keep the team competitive and there are way too many unknown variables.

If someone like Ellison/Oracle wants to make extra money, there are many easier and less riskier ways to do it.

[john e]

I'm not bothered if the money comes from Xia or Recon or some other businesses or the Chinese government or Tom Cobley
as long as its not coming from Samuelsons fianancial buddies and is loaded back on the club I'm ok

[old man villa fan]

I think these days you need someone with money and willing to spend it for the prestige of owning a top PL club.  This probably points towards developing/newly developed countries.  This is probably why the Americans have generally failed as they see it as a business.  The Glazers are the exception but they bought a unique Man Utd at the right time.

[Jimbo]

I think these days you need someone with money and willing to spend it for the prestige of owning a top PL club.  This probably points towards developing/newly developed countries.  This is probably why the Americans have generally failed as they see it as a business.  The Glazers are the exception but they bought a unique Man Utd at the right time.

This is about right, I reckon. It's more about prestige, or legitimacy, or visibility than just money. Abu Dhabi didn't buy Man City to make money, but they were smart enough to see where the opportunity to make money might arise, and seize the opportunity when it did. They won't be getting bored and abandoning ship, unlike a certain, silly ex-owner we all know.

I think the Chinese see football as a cultural bridge between China and the west, a bridge upon which many opportunities for business and investment may travel in both directions.