Thames Sports Investment

[Badger Finger]

It's non-starter storys like this which make the the premier league so worth while...

[mr_number]

Yeah, I haven't been angered by a Torygraph story about us in ages, so it's nice to know we're on the radar again.

As for the story, well it's typical negative, sniping Telegraph work, presenting conjecture as fact. Not sure why they are so instinctively negative.

[yuomi]

tbf in a world of carson yeung's and craig whyte's i WANT the FL/PL/FA and just about everyone else who can to ratify and rubber stamp this deal. if it takes until June thats fine. id much rather be sat here safe in the knowledge that our owners are who they say they are and have the means they say they do than wake up in twelve months time going through what fans at brum, pompey and rangers are. ive seen no evidence as to boris being a billionaire (his corporate sales exceed 2bn), his personal wealth was recorded last year at 750m. whether or not hes got offshores and holdings elsewhere is not for me to speculate but i want this deal to be squeaky and in the best interests of the club. if that takes a little longer, well then itll feel all the better when its concluded.

[TBM]

Does it really matter if the PL are investigating..........if they find nothing wrong then we'll be ok, if they do then its only good for us and there WILL be other buyers out there now we're in the Premier League

[ZacNaloen]

Gotta laugh at all the people saying "well they let the Venkys through" on the various comments on these things.

The venkys have money, they never lied or where untransparent. It was just the expectations of the blackburn fans which were way too high

[Whore Jackie]

Gotta laugh at all the people saying "well they let the Venkys through" on the various comments on these things.

The venkys have money, they never lied or where untransparent. It was just the expectations of the blackburn fans which were way too high

Sacking BFS because they wanted to push for Europe and talk of signing Ronaldinho did somewhat raise those expectations though.

[Elmer Park]

This>>>>>>>

Does it really matter if the PL are investigating..........if they find nothing wrong then we'll be ok, if they do then its only good for us and there WILL be other buyers out there now we're in the Premier League

Hopefully it won't take too long though because I don't want it to affect any possible transfers but I think the Premier League checking is more thorough than that of the Football League so it should give us extra reassurance if they give the all clear. Let's be honest there hasn't been a lot of public transparency so far about the identity of the parties and it's only been in the last few days SJM has started to refer to the Zingarevic family rather than just to Anton so the Premier League can clarify that.

The delay at least keeps up the hopes of the small number of fans who hope the whole thing will collapse.

I like to think SJM wouldn't have had gone this far down the road if he didn't believe everything was in order unless he agreed the deal in the Purple Turtle but whatever the outcome let's hope it's good for Reading FC

[Silver Fox]

Remember investigating doesn't mean they think there's anything to find

However, at what point does the takeover come under the EPL's remit? We're not an EPL team until the golden share stuff happens are we, which is IIRC June or something? If the takeover has been fully completed by then is there a reason for the EPL to get involved in our ownership and not any other promoted teams? Or are they runnign checks on all promoted teams now?

[Spirit of Elm Park]

Talksport have been all over this today.

What makes me laugh, is that all these 'journalists' act as If SIR John Madejski, has just had this guy walk up to him with a brown paper bag. The premier league can have as many corporate investigators as it likes, they are probably the same ones SJM has already used.

Lazy, jealous journalism.

[ZacNaloen]

The other director of Reading FC is a lawyer who specialises in corporate mergers and take overs I'm not concerned about the legitimacy of the take over.

The only stumbling block is going to be if the other investors pull out if they have to be identified.

[Rex]

Isn't the stumbling block the fact that backers for TSI do not want to be disclosed, and as this is an overseas investment it is proving difficult to get the transparency needed.

[ScottishRoyal]

The other director of Reading FC is a lawyer who specialises in corporate mergers and take overs I'm not concerned about the legitimacy of the take over.

The only stumbling block is going to be if the other investors pull out if they have to be identified.

Indeed, that's the big concern. Any dude diligence done by the clubs advisors will have been far more thorough than anything done by the FL or PL.

[MassSarrslibrarian]

Obviously the club have done their due diligence, personally I hold about as much stock in the premier league and Football league investigations and their "fit and proper person" test, as i do in Emile Heskey's ability whilst on a Football pitch-look at pompey for example

Surely, it shouldn't matter who has the money, because it's under the banner of TSI, as long as the money is there, then where'e the problem, the question is, now we've got Premier league Football, wouldn't mind a little bit of transparancy, and also a rough idea as to how big TSI's pocket's are???

[No Hoops]

The other director of Reading FC is a lawyer who specialises in corporate mergers and take overs I'm not concerned about the legitimacy of the take over.

The only stumbling block is going to be if the other investors pull out if they have to be identified.

Indeed, that's the big concern. Any dude diligence done by the clubs advisors will have been far more thorough than anything done by the FL or PL.

It's all bill and ted to me

[Dare to Dr£am]

The other director of Reading FC is a lawyer who specialises in corporate mergers and take overs I'm not concerned about the legitimacy of the take over.

The only stumbling block is going to be if the other investors pull out if they have to be identified.

Yes. A lot less to worry about than the papers want you to think. They'll always dramatise something.

AZ said himself, he didn't want to be interviewed until it looked like a done deal and he allowed himself to be interviewed on Tuesday, so here's hoping that means we're close now, even though the PL may once again hold it up a bit with their checks.

I'm sure it'll be fine.

[Dare to Dr£am]

The other director of Reading FC is a lawyer who specialises in corporate mergers and take overs I'm not concerned about the legitimacy of the take over.

The only stumbling block is going to be if the other investors pull out if they have to be identified.

Indeed, that's the big concern. Any dude diligence done by the clubs advisors will have been far more thorough than anything done by the FL or PL.

Yeah man, that's like totally radical. Surf's up!!

[Extended-Phenotype]

Dude Diligence. The most thorough and conscientious dude in Californ.I.A.

Can he stop the evil power of Negli Gent, and Rush Job?

[Z175]

I think the truth is somewhere in the middle. Clearly the national media have only just woken up to us, again, and so I completely agree stories are scaremongering and without foundation.

Yet I think the mood is swept up in the promotion euphoria. Like the media, we have no idea about the actual source of any cash.

A lot of people are erroneously putting faith in "the club/Sir John doing their due diligence". However, this is a term used to investigate the company you are taking over,i.e. Reading FC, not the purchaser. Any mention of DD form official channels is referred to the fact that TSI have commissioned a full investigation into Readings finances to check what they are buying.

This does not, of course, preclude, John Madejski not having vetted Anton thoroughly. I would though he has done so, but statements like "I could have called Bill Kenright, but I chose not to, as I felt I could trust Anton and Chris" and "Anton's just a lovely man", and Samuelson "This is not the father, this is the son", Madejski "His Dad is a billionnaire", are not exactly statements that imply this. Sir John is totally enamoured with the takeover, and living the dream of "europe" that it wouldn't be entirely far fetched for him not to know all the ins and outs of TSI.

Equally however, theres nothing to suggest Anton isn't heading a group of investors who can see that owning a slice of a club with a 40,000 seater stadium in Europe would be a good investment, or literally looking to spank his inheritance on his new toy (please, please, please!).

But with promotion,theres nothing to worry about yet. THe possibility of Anton being a tramp and us having to sell Pearce, Karacan et al to pay Roberts 6 months wages is past.

Frankly, now we are up we're laughing whatever happens. The TV deal has gone up loads since we came 8th, parachute payments now last 4 years and our squad aren't really the upcoming stars like Doyle, Shorey etc who needed big wages. We just have to wait and see whats in from Anton, but if the answer to that is nothing, its not a disaster at all.

[Mr Angry]

Whats the worst case scenario here? That TSI don't have the cash.

If that happens, I'm sure that there will be other buyers interested, and SJM would be able to command a higher price now.

However, I think things will be fine, and actually as a football fan, I'm pleased that the Authorities are looking so closely at our potential new owners, and assume that they will do so from now on when other clubs get bought......

[ZacNaloen]

Yes, even if the deal doesn't go through. It's not the end of the end of the world.