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Bids and Speculation
Contrary to initial reports on this website yesterday, Birmingham International Holdings will be holding a board meeting today at their head office in Hong Kong, with the sale of Birmingham City FC firmly on the agenda.
This is where I hold my hands up and admit that I got incorrect information. Yesterday was confusing in some ways; I had been given a message from a source on Monday that the meeting was off and it was seemingly confirmed yesterday morning – and having talked to colleagues in the media I decided to run the story. Within a few hours that same source from Monday told me the meeting was on after all which was quickly confirmed by a second source I hadn’t spoken to about this previously.
I’ve always asked people to treat speculation – particularly when I post it – with scepticism and this is why. Even though I do try hard to get accurate information sometimes things change and sometimes information received is inaccurate – and that’s without getting into the subjectivity of truth.
The hope has to be that there is an announcement from BIH at some point today to confirm that bids have been received and are being looked at – the most positive outcome I think we can hope for is confirmation of a preferred bidder. There are up to five on the table as I understand it – although details of who they are from and amounts they are for are understandably due to confidentiality sketchy. Various board members have been talking to different parties and I would expect that there will be some discussion as to which is the best going forwards. As much as I’ve seen people like Tom Ross discuss returning Blues to British hands I hope (and expect) that BIH will take the deal that is best in the long term for all parties, regardless of nationality. Without details of any bids I can’t say who I’d back or who is a front-runner but I am confident that BIH will make the right decision as it is in their best interests to pick a bidder who can take the club forward – particularly as it’s more than likely going to be a gradual transition.
Time has got to be of the essence for BIH to organise something. Blues’s last home fixture is on April 29 – after that date there will be no matchday revenue until August and with no season ticket renewal information from the club (which is understandable as they don’t know which division we will be in next year) season ticket renewals aren’t happening yet regardless of how people feel about that. I would expect commercial revenue probably slows down over the summer months and the final year’s parachute payment isn’t due until August – and that is provided that has not been factored beforehand.
Yet wages have to be continue to be paid – football contracts end on June 30 – which means two months left to pay off on the big ones such as Nikola Zigic. If we take a low figure of £18million (last season’s wage bill was £25million), then 2 months salary for the club would be 1/6 of that – £3million – and that’s just the wage bill, not taking into account other fixed overheads. With not much coming in then it comes down to what is in the bank right now – and the lower that figure is, the quicker BIH will need to sell at least a stake in the club.
Stock market announcements are updated here online and if an announcement is to be made today it could be made as late as 11pm Hong Kong time – 1600 BST. Let’s hope for some concrete news – I don’t want to speculate any more, I don’t want to deal with rumour; I want some solid facts we can move forwards with and I don’t think anyone can argue with that.
Tags: BIH, The Takeover
65 Responses to “Bids and Speculation”
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Hopefully, the end is in sight, the uncertaintity is killing the club,I certainly hope the club returns to british hands,but like the majority of fans i want the club to be safe and secure preferbably in the championship, but if we are in league 1, thats not a bad place to start the rebuilding process, I have heard a strong rumour that Jeff Lynne(ELO) and Jasper Carrot are fronting a consortium, got a feeling though that Paladini is the local businessman, surely either way it has to be better than what we have got now
No need for an aplogy Dan I think we are all so pleased to see the meeting is back on.
Agree totally Art. Ignore the jibes , Dan, no-one expects you to be perfect.
Any concrete as to who the parties are? I don’t want you to name them if you know, confidentiality and all that.
So you got something wrong? Big deal. Simple decision this, highest bid first then capacity and willingness to spend second. Weird that we go from zero interest to five bidders. Could be exciting this…KRO
Oh you made a mistake, terrible reporting Dan. No need to apologise without you we wouldn’t know a thing
Thanks for the update. If there are bids on offer then BIH will take the one that nets them the most money, there will be no thought for the club. The same happened with G&S when they sold the club.
Whilst clearly any prospect of new owners is positive , I wonder how this affects our chances of avoiding relegation? We have a struggling team with the majority not with us after June. More worrying, a failing manager who will clearly be sacked when ownership changes. A horrendous set of circumstances for the last three games.
Simple solution.. give the team a chance and sack the joker in charge !
Now if the focus had been on the football instead of the owners LC would have gone six months ago, or even last season. He has got away with it because so many people thought the owners were responsible for everything including team selection and tactics. Yeah I agree we need new owners if only to get rid of the management and coaching staff.
I don’t think we try to stop the opposition with our team selections and tactics otherwise we wouldn’t be in such a mess with 10 men behind the ball. We are lucky if we have 2 most of the time and they are either full backs, midfielders or kids. The majority of loan signings have been attacking midfielders who cant get hold of the ball because those playing in defence couldn’t pass a vindaloo.
Mate, your just not in the loop, think people are getting tired and can see right through your “BS” now….. all speculation and guessing!! can you actually call journalism searching the internet all night?? come on mate get a grip!! KRO
Which people are getting tired? If you think the information is BS, don’t come on the site – simples…
Daniel, do you know the real names of Posters like this , or is it this usual suspect under a different name ? Certainly has his style of post.
So people not allowed an opinion now??? some people think Dan is full of “BS” some don’t….. free speech as long as not offensive. I think Dan as the big man he is will agree…..
you are hiding behind your keyboard, your comment was not free speech it was a personal attack. But you aren’t the Poster I thought you were, he would have ignored me or come back with a funny riposte.
Not hiding at all….. I viewed my all my opinions on Monday during half time with fellow supporters about the poor state of the club and the OP website was mentioned and the genuine opinion was that dan was full of it…… and nobody as a clue what is going on!! so you tell me what is wrong with that???? a personal attack would be about him in person…. which I have not done, neither intend too. Need to calm down a little matey and crawl out of his backside, its actually quite a nice day. :-)
I agree he is full of it most of the time with occasional real news KRO T.C.Raven
Very true RiverPhoenix someone who makes sense.
Craven. Just like part of his name suggests.
Chas, my name is Christopher (Chis) Penny and my email address is cpennywise28@hotmail.com I sit in the tilton each week and have been a supporter and season ticket holder for 15 years through good times and bad…… I am entitled to my opinion and have no problem sharing them with anyone in person. :-) I don’t like certain things people say, but its their opinions and I respect that weather I agree or not. So lets not be little about it.
I would have come round and said Hello, Chris. I was in the Tilton last Monday. Terrible defending, wasn’t IT.
terrible….. was shocking!! but play most the team outta position your going to be punished!!
Don’t worry about it Dan, if it wasn’t for you we would know nothing. It was your blog that pressurised other parts of the media to start getting involved and reporting on events.
As for TC ravens comments why don’t you just block him!
why block someone for having an opinion?? Dan likes people who have opinions, positive or negative!! its what makes his site interesting!! if we block everyone who has an opinion then what is the point???
There’s a difference between opinion and abuse.
yes opinion is letting people know your views and agreeing/disagreeing that people are right or wrong, abuse is a personal attack or offensive comments about the person you are talking about……. as I said to chas if you crawl outta his backside its a nice day out :-)
Everyone is entitled to opinion, and I have not seen any abuse from anyone so far. All abuse should be aimed at the present board, who, in my opinion, have ripped the heart and soul out of this club of ours, with their greed and incompetence They, if they have any common sense, will have to sell the club in it’s entirety, because no one with any business acumen, would go into financial partnership with them. It is imperative that they sell the club a.s.a.p. because if we get relegated, ( and any more stupid team selections from LC, like on Monday, we will get relegated ) the value of the club, will plummet even more.
“Mate, your just not in the loop, think people are getting tired and can see right through your “BS” now….. ”
So this isn’t abuse or a personal attack?
richardm@i’mstuckupdan’sarse.com
No. Opinions of more than one person.
Nice to see you know how I think, how I work etc mate, which isn’t bad bearing in mind you don’t know me from Adam…
One thing I think is interesting is this – you think I’m full of BS yet you’ve followed my comments on Disqus and you’ve posted seven this morning. If I thought someone was full of it, I’d just ignore them myself…
Always follow your comments Mr Ivery and mostly disagree but like to follow all blues related sites….. its seems people are rather touchy including yourself, have I hit a nerve?? its just a personal opinion, for which I can clearly see you all have one of me, which does not bother me.
Not touchy at all, just think it’s intriguing once would waste so much time following something that they thought was BS.
If anything – bearing in mind the number of comments from your good self today I’d suggest the nerve being touched was yours… :)
nah, only nerve hit with me, are the morons who want people blocked or don’t like people to “think outside the box”
By the way, I’m on Radio WM at 17:20 – feel free to listen to that and disagree with what I say on there too…
look forward to it, need a laugh…..
chudit all opinions on here are valid ,you can not call for anyone to be blocked, if you agree or not is beside the point. Its called democracy the alternative being sycophancy.
Well said Tony, Dan has his “followers” like a cult who hang on his every word and anyone who disagrees should be blocked or burnt at the stake!! Dan should call himself Matthew Hopkins lol
My major concern is with regards to BIH’s reluctance to dispose of the club in its entirety immediately. I cannot believe that selling in 25% tranches over a potentially lengthy period of time would be attractive to many buyers. Selling the club in such a way would also likely still leave the club with little operating cash, as any buyer would likely only wish to be liable for 25% of inputs and outputs to mirror their stake.
We can only hope that whatever diversification BIH needs to undertake in order to continue trading (thus satisfying the HKSE as regards to being a going concern) is done very quickly and very efficiently, to allow the purchaser to finalise a 100% purchase before next season. Recent history, however, suggests it will not be a quick process.
Hi Daniel what ever happens the meeting is going ahead which is progress, whether they are happy with the bidders we will see. imo i wonder how many of the bidders would want a percentage?? with BLH still at the helm. sorry to say Daniel we do have savvy fans who will pick up anything to have a dig. Do what Clark does where broad shoulders mate. kro
Sod me Mark .. I have been getting you mixed up with Matt, I wondered why you had changed your writing style..Apologies Sir.
Matt will be pleased to hear that.
Mr Perry (as you have given your name elsewhere)
Yup, I didn’t really go to HK four times, didn’t make any contacts out there and the photos of me be interviewed by the press and appearing in the newspapers out there are all photoshops. It’s all other people’s work on the internet…
We all know you went out there, just saying people think your full of it…..
TC Raven/Chris Perry – you’re blatantly that Villa troll that’s been posting pathetic nonsense all over blues forums and the Birmingham Mail’s comments section.
Don’t like the site then do one. Dan Ivery is doing a sterling job keeping fellow bluenoses up to date. Your childish comments aren’t warranted.
apologies *Penny*
Nah Judge, wrong person. Long suffering blue nose!! with an opinion.
Remember this mate – opinions are like arseholes – everyone’s got one but most people don’t like them shoved in their faces :)
wow!! hit a nerve there mate!! lol so is that a personal attack??? not seen any opinions shoved in peoples faces, just a nice simple opinion shared on a website….. need to relax I’m not Peter Pannu I wont come after you. :-)
Mmm if I put that abusive comment or anyone else it would not be allowed on here…… contradictive individual aren’t you.
That’s not abusive at all mate, it’s proverbial and it’s true – not just for you but for everyone including me :)
To build a side on unproven loans and free transfers had the reality of being a relegation battle which means tactics and planning have to be spot on. The formations and tactics have backfired in some games (but worked in some of the relegation 6 pointers which were must wins). In my own opinion I think tactics and team selection are over thought to stifle the opposition rather than look at how the team can impose themselves in games. Since Bartley and Burn have left (who were competant and did well for us), we’ve not been as strong at the back which has left us vunerable. Just hope we have enough in the tank to survive
[…] in a dramatic U-turn yesterday afternoon, BIHL announced that the meeting had been reinstated, and once again board members would meet to discuss matters on the agenda. The importance of the […]
I have heard that the qatarian consortium is worth well over £600 billion almost in man citys ball park 1 can dream
Wakey wakey!
4pm is creeping closer
… and Leo is getting larger !!!!!!
No apologies needed…. I’ve heard…real speculation here!!…. That Clark has taken his kids out of school and has terminated the rent on his house in the Midlands??? Would that it be true…..
Thanx for keeping fans informed. I disagree with you though about who should own the Blues. I would strongly prefer a British owner – hopefully including Bluenoses.
BIH share price up over 10% on the day! Hope it’s good news.
i have been watching the posts since your change of platform Dan ,i have to say im missing the old boys , didnt always (often) agree with much of the comment but it was always in the right spirit , im never been much for blowing smoke up anyones butt , however as someone who has looked to OP for a long time I know that Dan doesnt do this for his own ego , Since CY was arrested OP was the only place i could find any news that i could trust about my football club .More than that ,reading comments from others who feel the same way has helped me stick by my club when its been harder than ever to do so..Your a top guy Dan ,hopefully your site will be idiot free again soon.
Please guys this excellent site is for people to express their opinions. NOT for people to express opinions about others opinions. If you disagree with an opinion express an alternative. No need to slag each other off. This is a valuable source of info and a valuable forum. I had a blog once and found more people read it if I put more garbage into it. This site has not fallen into that trap and long may it continue.
Well, has there been any News, Comments anything , about the Meeting ?
Keep up the good work – ignore the occasional moronic comments (as we all do as well).
Keep up the good work – ignore people who’s idea of “democratically stated” opinion is comment bordering on slander. They go too far.
Agree, some of the crazies fail to realize that this is the blog of a Blues fan and not a newspaper or official source of information. I don’t see any of the crazies going to Hong Kong or raising the profile of the issues at our club like Dan does. No, they just troll the web making negative comments or spouting nothing but hot air and BS.