SimonGilbert
Telegraph Tea Boy
Wasps takeover bid for Ricoh Arena targets 90% of ACL and could be agreed in private - http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/ricoh-arena-takeover-bid-wasps-7837217
Wasps takeover bid could be agreed in private (20 Viewers)
- Thread starter SimonGilbert
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SkyBlueScottie
Well-Known Member
Horrendous from our local council.
However SISU should now be contacting the relevant people to ask how much they need to pay to obtain the same deal....
However SISU should now be contacting the relevant people to ask how much they need to pay to obtain the same deal....
torchomatic
Well-Known Member
[video=youtube;maio_l3P5vk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maio_l3P5vk[/video]
J
Jack Griffin
Guest
Therein lies a major problem, when last heard of SISU/ARVO/OTIUM's leave to appeal was going to be heard in the high court between 10th & 31st Oct, and that isn't the appeal itself, it is just permission to go ahead. I reckon nothing will come from them till that is (hopefully) rejected, if not you can be sure as eggs is eggs that there will be nothing then till after the new year when that appeal would be heard.
rupert_bear
Well-Known Member
Why is it horrendous ?
You must remember councils have a duty to the city to bring in money, jobs etc and the re-generation of that part of the city has been an objective of our council whether it be labour controlled or tory for years. The area around the Ricoh apart from the Tesco bit is a shit tip, but with this knuckle train line is ripe for re-generation. As anyone on here I can be blinkered and say outrage it's the football clubs ground and should be nobody elses, but is it ? In the ideal world it should be but we left that world years ago, especially since sisu jumped in. A none football fan said to me only the other day only just over 11000 turned up for the last match and a number of those would have lived outside our city, proof in his opinion that the football team is not that important to the citizens of Coventry, I disagreed but do see his point.
You must remember councils have a duty to the city to bring in money, jobs etc and the re-generation of that part of the city has been an objective of our council whether it be labour controlled or tory for years. The area around the Ricoh apart from the Tesco bit is a shit tip, but with this knuckle train line is ripe for re-generation. As anyone on here I can be blinkered and say outrage it's the football clubs ground and should be nobody elses, but is it ? In the ideal world it should be but we left that world years ago, especially since sisu jumped in. A none football fan said to me only the other day only just over 11000 turned up for the last match and a number of those would have lived outside our city, proof in his opinion that the football team is not that important to the citizens of Coventry, I disagreed but do see his point.
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torchomatic
Well-Known Member
Not sure why it's got to be debated in private. What is there to hide from the public?
rupert_bear
Well-Known Member
Perhaps to stop no mark reporters putting a biased mark on things.
jimmyhillsfanclub
Well-Known Member
What about all these massive projected profits that ACL were to realise in the upcoming few years that they spouted on about in the recent court case.....was it all bullshit then? Why do they suddenly need/want to sell?
I assume Wasps will have to buy the full £14.4m loan outright on top of any purchase price of ACL?
So sick of this now....& my position remains the same, however I have one addition.
Sisu = cunts.
ACL = cunts.
CCC = cunts.
FL = cunts.
Wasps = cunts.
I assume Wasps will have to buy the full £14.4m loan outright on top of any purchase price of ACL?
So sick of this now....& my position remains the same, however I have one addition.
Sisu = cunts.
ACL = cunts.
CCC = cunts.
FL = cunts.
Wasps = cunts.
torchomatic
Well-Known Member
Good point. As long as it has a pro-ACL stance though then most will lap it up. I'm sure SG will oblige.
torchomatic
Well-Known Member
rupert_bear
Well-Known Member
I think most of us have enough intelligence to decide if there is a bias anywhere. Not sure about ACL bias just what could that be, they are the stake holders along with the Higgs charity, half each isn't it so I assume one can't move without the other.
torchomatic
Well-Known Member
I was thinking along the lines of another "Ha! Ha! It's all the Club's fault" kind of story. Like buses I'm sure they'll be another along in a little while.
covcity4life
Well-Known Member
this better not happen
corrupt greedy cretins
corrupt greedy cretins
Warwickhunt
Well-Known Member
for the wasps to get that type of money they need financial backing or approach hedgefunds
Sky Blue Dal
Well-Known Member
Don't hold you breath.. History has shown they are obviously not Business savy enough to do such a thing.
Sad that my club is lumbered with them.
duffer
Well-Known Member
Anytime any council tries to conduct business in secret, we should get nervous.
I can accept that there might be a need for commercial confidence, but there's more than just money at stake here. There's the morality of the council being involved in a franchising scenario (which they largely condemned when CCFC were being moved away from Coventry) and there is a potential breach of trust regarding what the council have told Coventry RFC (which was at the least, Cov RFC's chairman says, a promise to consult).
Neither of those issues relate to commercial sensitivity, they're about the ethics of how Coventry City Council do business and make decisions. Those conversations need to be held in public, so that we can determine if our elected representatives and their officers are acting honestly and fairly.
In the meantime SISU need to stop fiddling around right now and state publicly that they would like to have the opportunity to buy into ACL in the way that it seems Wasps are proposing. The council are under a legal obligation to maximise a return for their assets - they'd find it hard to prove in court that they are doing so if they exclude a potential purchaser from a sale.
Again though, SISU need to move quickly. If there's no stated intent to buy from them, then the Council clearly aren't obliged to offer to sell to them. In Mr Fisher's terms, it sounds like the ship really is about to sail.
I can accept that there might be a need for commercial confidence, but there's more than just money at stake here. There's the morality of the council being involved in a franchising scenario (which they largely condemned when CCFC were being moved away from Coventry) and there is a potential breach of trust regarding what the council have told Coventry RFC (which was at the least, Cov RFC's chairman says, a promise to consult).
Neither of those issues relate to commercial sensitivity, they're about the ethics of how Coventry City Council do business and make decisions. Those conversations need to be held in public, so that we can determine if our elected representatives and their officers are acting honestly and fairly.
In the meantime SISU need to stop fiddling around right now and state publicly that they would like to have the opportunity to buy into ACL in the way that it seems Wasps are proposing. The council are under a legal obligation to maximise a return for their assets - they'd find it hard to prove in court that they are doing so if they exclude a potential purchaser from a sale.
Again though, SISU need to move quickly. If there's no stated intent to buy from them, then the Council clearly aren't obliged to offer to sell to them. In Mr Fisher's terms, it sounds like the ship really is about to sail.
rupert_bear
Well-Known Member
I am sure you will agree the whole ccfc affair going back for years is murkier than a duck pond and like many duck ponds you will never quiet see the bottom. As for this Wasp thing I have to admit I am a bit more open minded than some on here and would like to see as much detail as possible before nailing my colours to any mast. But there is one statement that continues to niggle me and that is the "we must own our own ground" one, said by many a poster on here and constantly said by Tim Fisher in the past, but I ask the question "who are we" ? We don't even know who owns our football team and that question was asked in the House of Commons and got no answer. As I said murkier than a duck pond.
J
Jack Griffin
Guest
Charman of Cov Rugby (Ken Sharp ?) was on CWR this morning, talked about confidentiality agreements & also disclosed he was 'meeting the council' today, didn't clarify if he was meeting officers or councillors as far as I can remember, but I only caught part of it on my way into work. He said hoped to release statement ;later.
torchomatic
Well-Known Member
torchomatic
Well-Known Member
fernandopartridge
Well-Known Member
So the council selling their share of a company should not be a matter of public record? Honestly, some of you are embarrassing.
SkyBlueScottie
Well-Known Member
Exactly...
rupert_bear
Well-Known Member
In a word no. But this Wasp move has been on the cards for a couple of years and they moved out of London 10 years ago. Would moving elsewhere, anywhere for them be a franchise in the MK Dons/Wimbledon scenario ? not sure. Moves and amalgamations seems to happen more so in the rugby world than anywhere else and ideally everyone would stay where they are and live happily ever after, but then there's the real world.
lewys33
Well-Known Member
I am hoping to Christ that CCFC are remaining quiet because they are chasing the council for a price. CCC selling 90% to Wasps is unthinkable and I can't see how it would do anyone any good.
The only scenario in which I think it would work is if Wasps are purchasing JUST to use it for European games. In which case couldn't they do a deal with CCFC to buy 50% (or 45% if CCC must keep 10%) each?
The only scenario in which I think it would work is if Wasps are purchasing JUST to use it for European games. In which case couldn't they do a deal with CCFC to buy 50% (or 45% if CCC must keep 10%) each?
skybluetony176
Well-Known Member
I suspect that if Rob organised another protest at the council the attending numbers might increase somewhat on the previous numbers.
No way should a deal with an out of city sports club for the Ricoh be concluded in private. Forget our current Coventry fan base half of ACL belongs to the Coventry tax payer and the tax payers of Coventry as a whole need and deserve transparency on the selling off of any public asset.
No way should a deal with an out of city sports club for the Ricoh be concluded in private. Forget our current Coventry fan base half of ACL belongs to the Coventry tax payer and the tax payers of Coventry as a whole need and deserve transparency on the selling off of any public asset.
torchomatic
Well-Known Member
SkyBlueScottie
Well-Known Member
It's horrendous that they may decide to do a deal in secret.
The deal with Wasps does not include any of the surrounding land so I am not sure why you are arguing about jobs and regeneration, selling 90% of ACL secures absolutely zip of that...
sky blue john
Well-Known Member
Why would it be the clubs fault ?
The club like the fans are innocent bystanders !
Its solely the clubs owners fault past and present !
duffer
Well-Known Member
Wycombe's not quite West London, agreed, but it's certainly a lot closer to it than Coventry. When their owner took over the club he accepted that West London was Wasps 'home' and that's where he said he wanted them to move back to. Hence discussions with Brentford.
If this is about the odd European game, then it's something different, but if this is about Wasps becoming in effect "Coventry Wasps", then it's absolutely no different to other franchising scenarios. That's not something that I'd be prepared to accept. Otherwise, before you know it the 'real world' might demand that Coventry City would be better off elsewhere too - how acceptable would that be here?
rupert_bear
Well-Known Member
Can I talk about Coventry RFC. I can understand their fears, but the modern day Cov. rugger club are victims of their own doing by past committee members many no longer with us. Cov were a major club , perhaps THE major English rugby club. in 60s/70s and when Rugby Union was changing, modernising, smaller clubs such as Leicester Tigers and Northampton Saints grabbed the nettle and moved forward, Cov didn't old stalwarts buried the heads in the sand and the result is what we have now, cost them their ground and almost their very existence sound familier ? and like the football club are now dithering about in the almost insignificant third division. They get about a 1000 at their games and I don't think a major club like the Wasps on the doorstep would cost them one fan to be honest.
Sky Blue Dal
Well-Known Member
There is nothing unusual about commercial business deals being done secretly. Can't see why everyone is banging on about that.
That said I do agree that the Council voting should be visible as it is in the public interest. The same public who voted some of the councillors in. Keeping the council vote secret is unacceptable as we the voters have a right to know how councillors voted on this issue.
rupert_bear
Well-Known Member
How do you know that are you privy to any discussion, I doubt it. The proposed Haskell deal seemed to include surrounding areas so lets wait and see.
Agreed. Maybe SISU could save everyone's grief by putting in a respectable offer. I still maintain this is in the best interests of and, despite all the hostility, when push come to shove would be the preferred bid for CCC. Its clearly for sale SISU for crying out loud!!
skybluetony176
Well-Known Member
Perhaps it's not the ailing business that SISU have tried to convince the courts and us it is and Wasps can see how this will contribute to their finances away from Rugby matches giving them a springboard to push their club forward. Just a shame our owners dont share that vision, we might not be where we are now if they did. We as fans should all be angry about that too and that's not something we can blame ACL, Higgs, CCC, CET or the Judge for.