pablopicasso Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 tbh, if they ARE after the land and to bleed us dry, then its down to ellis... HE picked them out of the interested parties and brought them to the table to deal with... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lee_av Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 Perhaps it's time for Neville to make a statement and stop this constant smoke screen What smoke screen? And why is it Neville who needs to make a statement? The article correctly states: Ellis told shareholders at Villa's annual meeting in October that he hoped to be in a position to let shareholders know about the viability of take-over proposals "within a month". Despite the Cromers' interest becoming public, no comment has been forthcoming. Hello Doug? Are you there? What's happening? Why shouldn't he - if the deal details have been changed from what they were before, he can confirm or deny that the Comers have decided withdraw/continue. Doug is under certain Stock Market restrictions, and at the end of the day he can only deal with whats in front of him Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lee_av Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 tbh, if they ARE after the land and to bleed us dry, then its down to ellis... HE picked them out of the interested parties and brought them to the table to deal with... Where is the reasoning behind that? If they are the only people that have made a solid bid then the only choice is to accept or refuse. Who else is clammering over hot coals to buy us? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pablopicasso Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 there have been several interested parties along the way... and i dont think the comers/neville have actually made a bid yet... but he chose to let them get to the due dilligence stage, whereas he didnt with ranson.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lee_av Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 there have been several interested parties along the way... and i dont think the comers/neville have actually made a bid yet... but he chose to let them get to the due dilligence stage, whereas he didnt with ranson.... I'm interested, but at the end of the day I can't afford it. Neville/Comers had made a bid in principle, but obviously when they have done "due delligence (?)" it looks like they have decided not proceed. Ransons bid din't add up - he was undervalueing the club un the eyes of the sellers, and decided not to sell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiddybloke Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 considering we get the "fact" that we are so well run financially rammed down our throats by Ellis and the likes. Surely when people look at the books they would be delighted to make a bid??? :shock: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 As this news has come from a reliable source in Martin Swain it does seem there may be something up with the Comer part of the consortium but that is only part of the whole and it follows closely on from news that the bid remained in "good shape". Is this just another leak from the club to suggest that the bid is under threat despite the earlier claim? It seems to me that someone or a group of people do not want a bid to go through for whatever reasons they may have. Every time we hear something positive there is a negative to follow (for example - there has been no actual bid yet, we have yet to see the money and now part of the consortium are pulling out). I will believe the deal is dead when Neville tells us so, until then I will cling to the hope that it is not because the prospect of the club continuing under the penny pinching rule of an unwell 82 year old is one that I would prefer to not consider yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victie1 Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 Today's Independent carries this story Irish magnates pull out of £64m Villa takeover By Phil Shaw Published: 11 January 2006 The proposed £64m take-over of Aston Villa, which would have seen the octogenarian chairman Doug Ellis finally relinquish control of the Premiership club, appears to have fallen through after the Irish property magnates linked with the deal decided not to proceed. Brian and Luke Comer, the Galway-born, Hertfordshire-based brothers who were attracted to Villa by the prospect of developing land owned by the club within the grounds of Villa Park, are understood to regard Ellis' valuation as too high given the location and nature of the property and the price being sought. After negotiations which started in the autumn, the Cromers have withdrawn. The Solihull entrepreneur and lifelong Villa supporter Michael Neville will now try to find fresh investors for his consortium, which was reported to have offered 560p per share to buy the majority shareholding, held by Ellis and the businessman Jack Petchey. The failure of the take-over will come as a blow, if not an unexpected one, to the Villa manager, David O'Leary. The one-time free-spender at Leeds United had hoped to have funds for strengthening one of the top division's smallest squads during the January transfer window. Club sources, who had claimed the delays were caused by the legal process of "due diligence", have yet to confirm that the deal is dead. But they do not now expect Ellis' controversial reign - which stretches back to the 1960s with only a brief hiatus a quarter of a century ago, during which Villa won the European Cup - to end in the near future. Ellis told shareholders at Villa's annual meeting in October that he hoped to be in a position to let shareholders know about the viability of take-over proposals "within a month". Despite the Cromers' interest becoming public, no comment has been forthcoming. The affair has been played out in contrast with the quickfireinvestment in Portsmouth by a Russian multi-millionaire. However, Villa fans frustrated by the collapse of the Irish bid and Ellis' alleged lack of ambition, may come to view events differently. Neither brother has a strong interest in football. The proposed £64m take-over of Aston Villa, which would have seen the octogenarian chairman Doug Ellis finally relinquish control of the Premiership club, appears to have fallen through after the Irish property magnates linked with the deal decided not to proceed. Brian and Luke Comer, the Galway-born, Hertfordshire-based brothers who were attracted to Villa by the prospect of developing land owned by the club within the grounds of Villa Park, are understood to regard Ellis' valuation as too high given the location and nature of the property and the price being sought. After negotiations which started in the autumn, the Cromers have withdrawn. The Solihull entrepreneur and lifelong Villa supporter Michael Neville will now try to find fresh investors for his consortium, which was reported to have offered 560p per share to buy the majority shareholding, held by Ellis and the businessman Jack Petchey. The failure of the take-over will come as a blow, if not an unexpected one, to the Villa manager, David O'Leary. The one-time free-spender at Leeds United had hoped to have funds for strengthening one of the top division's smallest squads during the January transfer window. Club sources, who had claimed the delays were caused by the legal process of "due diligence", have yet to confirm that the deal is dead. But they do not now expect Ellis' controversial reign - which stretches back to the 1960s with only a brief hiatus a quarter of a century ago, during which Villa won the European Cup - to end in the near future. Ellis told shareholders at Villa's annual meeting in October that he hoped to be in a position to let shareholders know about the viability of take-over proposals "within a month". Despite the Cromers' interest becoming public, no comment has been forthcoming. The affair has been played out in contrast with the quickfireinvestment in Portsmouth by a Russian multi-millionaire. However, Villa fans frustrated by the collapse of the Irish bid and Ellis' alleged lack of ambition, may come to view events differently. Neither brother has a strong interest in football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 They haven't even got the Comers name right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silent_Bob Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 Kiddybloke. To be fair it's not impossible that Ellis' valuation is more or less correct But the Comers are obviously looking for a profit here. The land might be worth around what Ellis thinks. But for property developers, not a football club. I choose to look upon this as some kind of test for our potential new owners. If they walk away because they can't have a profit on our assets, then I'm happy that it now seems they won't be our new owners. I would prefer someone who were attracted by the club itself, rather than someone who were attracted by the value of our assets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denis_B Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 I would prefer someone who were attracted by the club itself, rather than someone who were attracted by the value of our assets. Nice sentiments but unless I win the Euromillions this week we are left with the only option being a 'businessman' who will look at assests and profitability Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silent_Bob Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 As this news has come from a reliable source in Martin Swain it does seem there may be something up with the Comer part of the consortium but that is only part of the whole and it follows closely on from news that the bid remained in "good shape". Is this just another leak from the club to suggest that the bid is under threat despite the earlier claim? No, I believe this is correct. It adds to claims earlier that Ellis hasn't received confirmation that the consortium in fact has enough money to complete the takeover. The Comers obviously has enough money, but if they remain willing to spend it after going through due dilligence is obviously another matter. So it seems the Comers are out of the consortium led by Mr Neville. If he manages to find other investors remain to be seen, but new investor will obviously then want to go through our books themself. So Mr Neville continues to negotiate with Doug, but need to find other investors before making a formal bid. In other words, this could drag on for ages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 So it seems the Comers are out of the consortium led by Mr Neville If that proves to be the case what would that do to the potential money made available for players after a takeover? The talk of a regular £20m was linked to the Comers building group profits, so would Neville be looking for this sort of regular extra investment as well as the balance of the money needed to make the chairman walk? If so, he would have a tough job on his hands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnCresswell Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 Fact is, if it was dead aqt this moment, the stock exchange HAS to be informed. It hasn't been. I don't think Ellis is in any shape what so ever to sell his shares at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mykeyb Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 Sort of makes the Comers offer of £20mill per year to spend on players look like a bit of a con doesnt it. They have learnt quickly from Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianrobo1 Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 JC, I get the feeling any investors are simply waiting for Ellis to die and then get the club at a cut price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnCresswell Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 Cut price, or price which they value the club at? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianrobo1 Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 well we all except that Doug in situ is going to ask for a premiuim of about 20% so when he dies the asking price could be under £50m based on the fact the land assets was always a myth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wurzel Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 I'm no expert, but if Ellis is very ill, would it not be in the interest of the consortium to wait to see if there are any developments? especially if they feel that Ellis has over priced the club. What is clear is that AVFC are in limbo until the club is sold, we cannot expect anyone to commit money if they intend to sell up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVFCinSpain Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 Given the due diligence exercise, it seems likely that they've found the books lacking in terms of supporting Ellis' valuation. Would also have to agree with Denis. We are unfortunately, very unlikely to find an investor who is a die hard Villa fan. Therefore, anyone putting in money will want to see a return on their investment, and more importantly, want to have control. As I've thought since this saga began, Ellis will only be departing in his box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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