It’s less than a week now before the Birmingham International Holdings EGM takes place in Hong Kong and the club can take another step forward in the most protracted takeover known to man.

I’m going to admit it – I understand the disconnect people feel for the whole situation. It’s been going on so long even I’ve got to the point where I just want it done and while I know patience is now an absolute must (as there is nothing else we can now do but wait), it’s hard not to agree with people who moan about the whole situation online.

The EGM itself should be nothing more than a procedural meeting; a rubber stamping of all the things that Trillion Trophy Asia along with Ernst and Young have been working on to take control out of the hands of Carson Yeung once and for all.

While the meeting is due to take place at 11am HKT on Monday (4am BST), BIH have until 11pm HKT that evening (4pm BST) to announce to the HKSE the results. I might as well take this opportunity to forewarn regular readers that I’ll be in the air returning from my holiday at that time so it probably won’t be until late Monday evening that I’m able to write anything.

Of course, the EGM isn’t the end of the story either – the takeover isn’t done until shares are relisted on the stock exchange, which is about three months away. I’m not even sure the EGM will mark a point where anything more concrete can be said about what the future under TTA will bring – with so much left to be sorted out with regards to shares being exchanged, new shares issued and court claims dealt with I think it’s still possible that EY/TTA will hide behind rules and regulations as reasons to stay schtum.

I’ve seen people be cynical about if this is truly the end of Carson with some of the more distrusting fans out there swearing blind that it’s just another puppet of Carson taking control.

I can’t agree with this viewpoint at all. While I agree it’s possible to find tenuous links to Carson – for example the usage of Kingston to underwrite part of the deal, I think it was inevitable that there would be someone involved who would have a flimsy connection with the former hairdresser. I mean, if I tried hard enough I could link myself to Carson – I’ve met and had beers with enough people who have mutual acquaintances. It doesn’t mean I’m his puppet or vice versa.

Scepticism isn’t a bad thing though. One of the things that you will see me rail against most is the idea that we should blindly accept what we are told; I firmly believe everything should be questioned. One thing that concerns me is the idea that post-takeover we still won’t hear anything from Paul Suen or his cohorts. As much as I think Panos does a good job as a visible figurehead in Birmingham I also think it’s important that every once in a while at least we hear from the big cheeses in Hong Kong. Will Panos be able to convince them to pose for a selfie once the deal is done?

Tags: BIH, EGM, Paul Suen Cho Hung, The Takeover, Trillion Trophy Asia