Often Partisan

Trillion Trophy Confirmed as Bidder

In an announcement made to the HKSE today Birmingham International Holdings have confirmed that Trillion Trophy Asia are indeed the bidder for a stake in the beleaguered company.

The announcement confirms that negotiations are ongoing at present, and that Trillion Trophy have loaned BIH HK$13.5million (approx 1.15million pounds) in working capital prior to the main loan of HK$153million going through.

There isn’t much more in the announcement – which no doubt is going to displease many who were hoping to know who was behind Trillion Trophy but it does show two things – firstly that EY are respecting the rules and keeping things ongoing and secondly that there is progress being made.

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44 Responses to “Trillion Trophy Confirmed as Bidder”

  • oldburyblue says:

    Working capital? Is that to keep BIH in HK “working” or BCFC?

  • Paul says:

    From a shareholder point of view. Having read announcement on stock exchange, I read into it the in house buy back is going on and as soon as they reach the 30 plus level next stage will be announced, looking good.

  • peter bates says:

    Bit of a damp squib really but I suppose a little progress is something kro

  • Adam True Blue says:

    What it does say is if no agreement is made with Trillion Trophy within 2 month’s then the working capital loan +8% has got to be paid back, 8% sounds quite high for a loan of that amount, I presume that the continued halt in trading is to restrict CY’s counter moves?

    • Alex says:

      Adam, I dont think it does say that. It says it will be paid back with interest acrued. As the loan is for 8% per annum, if the loan has to be repaid in 2 months then there will be one sixth of 8% interest acrued.
      What worries me about the annoncement is that it seems to be saying that things are taking longer than expected and the loan is so desparately needed that it has been renegotiated.
      Notice the term “Potential Offerer”. I think no formal offer made yet.
      More delay!
      Alex

  • ChrisG says:

    Well it’s something that most of us have guessed already but at least E&Y have made the announcement & things are moving fotward. My question now is, will they be putting any money into the club for transfers or is BIH their sole aim?

  • Richard Granfield says:

    The working capital loan of HK$ 13.5m is granted on a “Unsecured Basis” i.e. not secured against St Andrews.

  • duchess says:

    What it does sound like to me is TTA is a vehicle for purchasing and that it is to buy the club long term, they are doing it the same way CY bought off Sullivan and Gold, no other reason why they would buy BIH.

    Be interesting to see who is behind TTA… could well be anyone who just set up a company purely to do this bit of business!!

    • chris says:

      There are other reasons to buy BIHL, one is to buy a company that is HK listed.
      Another is to buy it as per venture capitalists do and sell it on, though that didn’t exactly go well at Coventry. They could even sell on two different businesses after sorting out the HK listing issues.
      Another is to buy it on behalf of someone else and as no one can find out who Trillion are, maybe they they are a middle man for someone else.

  • Martin says:

    I suspect something is going on here. Tta are not a “known” company and due diligence on them is not being shared. Surely with all the red tape in HKE they would have to be a known fit and proper company. If they had the club in mind they would surely want in during closed season, to aid building a strong team. I expect a big anti climax and another fiasco with Tta they are to quite
    Martin

    • Emma says:

      Totally agree I feel sick with worry because I really think Carson yeung or Pannu have a lot to do with trillion

      • almajir says:

        They don’t.

        Ernst and Young have continually, repeatedly said that Trillion Trophy have no connection to BIH nor connected person(s) – which includes the likes of Carson. They have to be on the money with this – they can’t afford to be seen to be doing business with a convicted money launderer.

        Plus – Carson’s tried to stop this repeatedly. Why would he stop someone working on his behalf?

  • swissjonny says:

    I wouldn’t worry about it not being a known company.It would be quite normal for a new co to be set up as a special purpose vehicle to make such an acquisition especialy if there are multiple partners.A new company has the benefit of being just that-a company with no hidden debts or secrets.Thus much easier for people to invest in without having to do hours of due diligence etc.Im presuming that E and Y have made satisfactory enquiries into the financial and moral standing of those who have or will be investing via the new co.A new co can have no previous form or nasty baggage-the same cannot necessarily be said about those who may invest in or through such a vehicle.

  • rhees says:

    Like Paul’s post hope he is right, didn’t expect anymore of an announcement today

  • The Francis Fake says:

    I have a few concerns here. Firstly, the fact that very little progress has been made at this particular time reduces the likelihood of the club being able to attract the GR’s preferred targets in the crucial close season period. Only a small tranche of the intended loan is being made available. The fact that little progress has been made demonstrates that the situation remains to be a complex one. Surely any potential buyer would want the close season to be a fruitful time in the transfer market to improve the clubs prospects. I was hoping that TTA would have at least been able to advance the full loan by now to give GR some ammo. I trust E&Y but it may be that they have selected TTA because they were at least willing to pump some cash in short term rather than necessarily being the buyer that offers the best long term solution. This is pure speculation though and TTA may ultimately be good.

    • chris says:

      even if TTA supplied the full loan is doesn’t mean BCFC will get any of it as the loan is to BIHL.
      Also that loan will be held against St Andrews and i for one wouldn’t want that money spent on wages of transfer fees, because once that is gone we’ve lost the ground and our only major asset.
      without that asset there would be no further colateral for future loans.
      Obviously none of this will / would be an issue if a sale goes through fairly quickly but if it drags on for 12 months or more then that loan monies will have to be spent very cautiously.

  • John says:

    So nobody knows who TTA are, nobody knows if any of the money up front, or loaned, is going to BCFC.. Surely E&Y could have made a statement, that they doing all they can, to help BIH and , more importantly, the football club, who are evidently, 93% of BIH. We appear to have moved no further forward.. Just more shady dealings. Out of the frying pan, into the wok !

    • Adam True Blue says:

      Translated directly from a chinese stock anouncement….

      According to the commitment letter, recommended that the lender has agreed to grant the company circulating financing 153 million yuan, and the provision of an £ 880,000 (approximately HK $ 10.3 million) of cash collateral to help Birmingham City Football Club Plc to obtain bank financing in the United Kingdom.

      It clearly states that the loan monies are for BCFC to be able to obtain further loans from UK banks.
      Kro

    • almajir says:

      John – see the previous statement on May 8 – and my previous post on it.

  • So the game is on to possibly change control of the FIRM, I should think that the TTA consortium members will want their names kept secret until after their aim has been targeted and done to be immune from people who,s bad reputations are restricting big sponsorship , all we the fans can do is make sure that control of this club happens , it can’t be as bad as CYs time in control , so come on you Bluenoses let’s give GR all the backing he needs ,let’s get this club moving up again , no looking back ,let’s create enough electricity at stans to create our own light at the end of the tunnel , The bluenose army is on the move again ,COME ON KEEP RIGHT ON .

  • duchess says:

    I think we need to be positive and look at what has changed in the last 12 months… GR is a great manager and we have a gem in the making there, plus Blues have always been better in my eyes and times have been more memorable when an ex player is in charge! Panos Pavlakis is also another bonus I think, he knows football and english football at that! I think if GR can build on what he had last season then why cant we be a Bournemouth or a Watford?? if GR had been in charge all season based on his points tally we could well of been in the playoffs… personally I cannot wait for the new season and hoping to see stans with at least 18-20k a week inside banging out Keep Right On!

  • Adam True Blue says:

    I Do not understand why all of my digging and searching comes up with NO results for Trillion Trophy Asia, there is no mention of this company ‘anywhere’ before 18th May 2015 (and only then by association to BCFC), the company is not registered anywhere in the world and has no history or alliances, if they have funds in the bank to lend to Bihl then surely they exist and will have a paper trail, they own no buildings pay no rents or bills, this company is a phantom, even if a new company has been created as a vehicle to taking over Bihl they have to be registered, and they have been declared to the HKSE so who are they?

    • chris says:

      Can only agree and why isn’t the Football League asking questions about who they are?
      The Football League should be asking who is investing in one of their members owners companies and using their ground as collateral.

    • almajir says:

      Adam

      Do you know what a tax haven is? Do you know why companies are registered in places like the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands or similar? Do you know why investment vehicles are registered in these kinds of places. Find the answers to these questions and you’ll understand why you’ve not got a hope in hell of finding anything about Trillion Trophy online.

      • Adam True Blue says:

        Funny that there is no mention of them in Caymen Islands own register of companies?

        • almajir says:

          Show me where you can access the actual list of Cayman Island companies.

          You can’t search it online, it’s not accessible online.

          Edit – apparently now you can search for names. That’s changed in the last few months.

          Strike off Cayman Islands, Bermuda or BVI to go.

  • DaveP says:

    I doubt if E&Y would have made them preferred bidder had they not done a background check first. I don’t think they’d want another Mickey Mao-se (sic) outfit getting involved in BIHL at this stage.

  • Mitchell says:

    If TTA is a total unknown to all of us and digging around by some OP bloggers has resulted in total anonymity,.then are we to assume we will accept this latest so called press release and move on. I think not. Just tell us what and who they are. Even if they manufacture toffees or trident missile parts..just a little respect please..not a lot to ask for is it. Even Daniel cannot work out what they do.

    • almajir says:

      Mitchell

      Can I raise a pedant point? You’re all commenters on this website, there is only one “OP blogger” and that is ME.

      They’re an investment vehicle. I think people need to understand this.

  • SeanThomas says:

    Don’t undermine the people who contribute to this site by being the big I AM ! For crying out loud all we are trying to do is make some sense out of it, as we all have a valid interest. Whoever is the blogger or commentator does that REALLY matter ?

  • Mitchell says:

    Ok Daniel, I accept that and stand corrected. However, can I respectfully point out that terms like Investment Vehicle and the like do little to feed the average bluenose with any kind of understanding. What is passing us all by is the very nature of being a fan who would like plain English spoken or explained. Perhaps we could start with Investment vehicle and what it means. Many thanks.

    • Stephen Powell says:

      Mitchell, I think most average people understand what a investment vehicle is these days,if not its too easy to goggle it and find.

  • cannock blue says:

    I think a few people on here need to accept that selling a club or a stake in a club isn’t the same as selling a car on ebay it’s far more complex than that even more complex when you have the major shareholder desperately trying to hold on to his favorite toy! E&y are making steady progress in making sure blues have enough funds in place to keep blues afloat. That in the main is enough reason to be optimistic. We could be a lot worse off going into this season with a 10 point deduction. As for tta people need to understand that just because they operate from a tax haven doesn’t mean they are of the same ilk as Carson and his cronies. It may be a consortium of reputable business men who can take the club forward. Nobody knows because it’s been done by the book unlike the previous attempts by paladini and Wray who ultimately shot themselves in the foot by going public. I’m more than happy to sit back and wait for the monthly updates that E&Y are providing. I’m not concerned by them claiming fees either because up until recently pp would of pocketed a good portion of money anyway and I’d rather they had it than him to be fair. Keep up the good work Dan your providing the most reliable information out there at the moment and I’ for one are truly grateful for all you efforts. Kro

  • Tjdixi says:

    How many trophies do they have in Asia? Are we competiting for all of them?

  • BhamCityJulian says:

    This the revolving credit facility secured on Stans or is it unsecured?


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