TAKEOVER *NOT* CONFIMRED

[Orion1871]

I expect it'll be Steve Bruce if Ashley takes over.

Time to trade tennis balls in for cabbages.

[Pepe the Horseman]

[Snowflake Royal]

Remember when half tbe board/Twitter was up in arms about Cotteril? I’d take him as manager now…

I'd take your mum as manager now.

[Hound]

Remember when half tbe board/Twitter was up in arms about Cotteril? I’d take him as manager now…

I'd take your mum as manager now.

I might get a game myself if that happened so all for it

[72 bus]

I don't think he was talking about compensation for sacking the manager, most likely referring to compensation fees for young players that reject contract extensions:
https://www.leathesprior.co.uk/news/com ... -a-mystery

It will be that. We cannot pay anything to bring a player to the club - it has to be an actual free transfer.

Probably means we can't pay compo for a manager already in a job too. May have also been the case when Selles was appointed.

Ainsworth is not in a job, just saying

[Norfolk Royal]

CFY

As I said, peppermint Aero bubbles is/are the way forward.

Mint chocolate is absolutely pointless. May as well just neck some toothpaste.

That is a ridiculous proposition and a wholly inaccurate portrayal of what I regard as a delicacy.

[LUX]

Remember when half tbe board/Twitter was up in arms about Cotteril? I’d take him as manager now…

I'd take your mum

[WestYorksRoyal]

The article reads:

Reading owner Dai Yongge has flown into England for crucial takeover talks, in a major development for the crisis hit League One club.

Yongge is assessing a number of offers to buy the club and is expected to make a decision on a preferred bidder early next week.

Former Newcastle owner Mike Ashley and Genevra Associates, an investment group based in Luxembourg, are understood to be two parties interested in acquiring the club, who are currently bottom of the third tier.

Yongge is under huge pressure to sell up and the next few days are regarded as vital for Reading’s short-term future.

Once Yongge has selected a preferred bidder, a period of exclusivity will be granted for the party to complete a deal. If that process runs smoothly, Reading could have new owners by the start of next year.

Genevra Associates are understood to have recently submitted a revised and final bid, and remain hopeful of agreeing a deal with Yongge.

William Storey, the British businessman, recently pulled out of talks despite initially claiming he had agreed a contract and exclusivity in October.

Yongge, who is based in China, is ready to sell up after a stormy tenure in which the club has been docked 16 points by the Football League for financial breaches.

A winding-up order by HMRC was dropped earlier this week after Yongge settled an overdue tax bill, but the club remains in severe financial difficulty.

Mark Bowen, the head of football operations, admitted in a statement on Thursday that a sale of the club could be close.

“Daily operations at the club continue to be hamstrung by cashflow problems, the search for new owners is encouraging but naturally time-consuming,” he said.

“We are in constant discussion, negotiation and engagement with an encouraging number of individuals who, we believe, are all capable of making viable takeover bids.

“It is very difficult to speculate on the timescales involved, but I am very positive that this process is now nearing a much-needed conclusion.”

4 days ago.

Hurry the fcuk up Dai you useless c*nt.

[Stranded]

4 bids on the table, just waiting on Dai to pick one.

[Elm Park Kid]

Unfortunately this will be a situation where the least financially sensible person is going to be the one offering the most money.

[Sutekh]

Unfortunately this will be a situation where the least financially sensible person is going to be the one offering the most money.

So Mr Ashley likely to be the lowest bid though probably the most likely to "fly" through the ODT the quickest and take this mess off of Mr Dai so he can get back to his bomb shelters.

[Royal_jimmy]

Bradford
Bournemouth
Brentford
Coventry
Swansea

For a few more.

I wouldn't say Bournemouth and Brentford are bigger than us. Probably about the same size. Same as Bradford too.

Only club who have always been bigger is Coventry from that lot.

Only really Bradford and Coventry could be described as at least the same size as us (as we are now) at the time of their financial issues. It's even arguable whether Bournemouth or Brentford are bigger than us now (in terms of support at least).

Brentford maybe but Bournemouth no chance

[Royal_jimmy]

Unfortunately this will be a situation where the least financially sensible person is going to be the one offering the most money.

So Mr Ashley likely to be the lowest bid though probably the most likely to "fly" through the ODT the quickest and take this mess off of Mr Dai so he can get back to his bomb shelters.

Hopefully none of the other bidders aside from Mike Ashley pass the owners and directors test.

[WestYorksRoyal]

What has been the process for getting this far? Nigel Howe has been involved. Hopefully he's sifted out the total chancers and ensure those still involved are credible?

It feels like people who genuinely care have been involved in getting parties to the table, even if Dai's final decision will be entirely in his own self interest.

[Ascotexgunner]

What I don't get is the Red Bird bid. Though I understand they aren't exactly clean as an organisation, their sports investment fun is worth 8billion, they own AC Milan and 10% of Liverpool. We just seem too small for them.

[Lower West]

What I don't get is the Red Bird bid. Though I understand they aren't exactly clean as an organisation, their sports investment fun is worth 8billion, they own AC Milan and 10% of Liverpool. We just seem too small for them.

Feeder club. Somewhere to develop younger players who'll never make the top grade for resale. Liverpool churn plenty out every year who end up being farmed out. Ovie Ejaria started life there............

[Elm Park Kid]

The riches of the PL mean that pretty much any EFL club can be sold to investors as having the potential to increase in value 10 fold. And with all the Wrexham stuff there might be a few more people out there willing to believe that fairy tale.

But, sadly, the time frame in which Reading could achieve that has now been stretched out to realistically a minimum of 4 years. It's probably too long.

[Sutekh]

What I don't get is the Red Bird bid. Though I understand they aren't exactly clean as an organisation, their sports investment fun is worth 8billion, they own AC Milan and 10% of Liverpool. We just seem too small for them.

Feeder club. Somewhere to develop younger players who'll never make the top grade for resale. Liverpool churn plenty out every year who end up being farmed out. Ovie Ejaria started life there............

So, to make it clear, I take it an organisation/person can have financial involvement in more than one club in the same league system so long as they do not have the controlling interest in more than one of those clubs?

[Stranded]

The riches of the PL mean that pretty much any EFL club can be sold to investors as having the potential to increase in value 10 fold. And with all the Wrexham stuff there might be a few more people out there willing to believe that fairy tale.

But, sadly, the time frame in which Reading could achieve that has now been stretched out to realistically a minimum of 4 years. It's probably too long.

But if an owner gets the club at a decent price for a L1/L2 side with potential, the club can churn out decent youngsters to sell for decent fees then an owner could get a return on investment in the Championship.

[WestYorksRoyal]

The riches of the PL mean that pretty much any EFL club can be sold to investors as having the potential to increase in value 10 fold. And with all the Wrexham stuff there might be a few more people out there willing to believe that fairy tale.

But, sadly, the time frame in which Reading could achieve that has now been stretched out to realistically a minimum of 4 years. It's probably too long.

You make top end Championship in 4 years sound like a long time. It's not; it would be a great outcome. Ultimately you can buy a club with current PL aspirations for £60m, or buy a shitshow for £25m and turn it into that yourself. But it's a risky game, as you may well be funding £5m+ losses per annum to get there. It becomes easier in the Championship where top talent can fetch £20m to help turn you into profit. What's the equivalent in L1? £3m for a top player? And £1m in L2?

Also, I doubt any bids will be flat fees in our situation. There will be clauses for if the HMRC issue causes points deductions, and probably variable consideration amounts over 3 years or so where Dai gets more if we avoid relegation this season or get promoted in the near future.