Liverpool Takeover - Kenny Luang Ready To Spend

[Chopper]

When you get a bunch of lads who know fuck all about football to have a whip round, chances are they wont agree or make shite purchases.

260 million in debt
Poor finish last year
Stadium not finished

Just Saying.

[Beefymcfc]

When you get a bunch of lads who know fuck all about football to have a whip round, chances are they wont agree or make shite purchases.

260 million in debt
Poor finish last year
Stadium not finished

Just Saying.

Fair one, but you could say the same about our custodians.

[BobKowalski]

Well I wouldn't go as far as to suggest that this approach resembles some of the many takeovers of Portsmouth last season the whole 'man who knows men with lots of money who want to invest in football club' is a well worn path as the fans of Notts County and our own dear Sven will be well aware.

I also thought it odd that they tried an approach via RBS and not Barclays Capital who are the authorised selling agents for the club. Trying to bounce the bank holding the loans into some sort of deal is not the best opening gambit unless perhaps you are short of the necessary funds and fancy chancing your arm otherwise you just piss off the people who you ultimately will have to deal with. He also seems to be in a bit of a hurry. If they are after a good deal I would let the dippers twist in the wind for another year but hey its their money or rather its someones money. Just not Kenny's.

[Chopper]

Not really.

The key word is Liquid.

Doubt the Sheik has to call his partners to see how they feel about investing.

Huang Chung on the other hand will be blowing through his mobile minutes trying to get something together.

[BobKowalski]

Not really.

The key word is Liquid...

Definitely. Liquid is in pretty short supply these days and to buy the club, invest in players and build a new stadium you are going to need to find a huge chunk of loose change down the back of the sofa. And sofa's like that are a rare species and if you do find one odds are Sheikh Mansour is already sitting on it.

And good luck trying to get a return on your huge investment through shirt sales and TV rights in China...

[Beefymcfc]

Not really.

The key word is Liquid...

Definitely. Liquid is in pretty short supply these days and to buy the club, invest in players and build a new stadium you are going to need to find a huge chunk of loose change down the back of the sofa. And sofa's like that are a rare species and if you do find one odds are Sheikh Mansour is already sitting on it.

And good luck trying to get a return on your huge investment through shirt sales and TV rights in China...

So, is 'Liquid' business jargon for cash?

If he takes over at Liverpool, then we'll know he's serious. If he doesn't, then they'll just have to carry on regardless.

[Niall Quinns Discopants]

Not really.

The key word is Liquid.

Doubt the Sheik has to call his partners to see how they feel about investing.

Huang Chung on the other hand will be blowing through his mobile minutes trying to get something together.

and that's why i'm not too bothered. He is 'wealthy' not rich beyond wildest dreams like Sheik and Roman. Sheik has richer men than him shining his shoes.

[Beefymcfc]

Mmmmm, I think I'll just Wait-Out and see what happes with this one, and although I have no worries, I do feel that if he does take over he'll/they'll be more than just a 'Wealthy' owner.

Anybody remember their final game with the Carlsberg sponsor?

[BobKowalski]

Not really.

The key word is Liquid...

Definitely. Liquid is in pretty short supply these days and to buy the club, invest in players and build a new stadium you are going to need to find a huge chunk of loose change down the back of the sofa. And sofa's like that are a rare species and if you do find one odds are Sheikh Mansour is already sitting on it.

And good luck trying to get a return on your huge investment through shirt sales and TV rights in China...

So, is 'Liquid' business jargon for cash?

If he takes over at Liverpool, then we'll know he's serious. If he doesn't, then they'll just have to carry on regardless.

His intent is not really the issue. Someone like Luang can probably raise the funds to buy Liverpool but it makes no sense to buy Liverpool at the price G&H want because you also have to factor in new player costs - and Torres is right they do need 4 to 5 top class players and the cost of a new stadium to get more bums on seats to generate the match day revenue ala the Emirates otherwise you are always playing catchup. The combined cost of this could be in the region of what a billion quid give or take 10%? Very few wealthy people have this sort of money in cold hard cash. Abramovich did and Sheikh Mansour does but everyone else just borrows it against assets or liquidate other assets to free up the cash. But if you do this you want a financial return. Abramovich doesn't want a financial return and neither does the Sheikh which makes them fairly unique. Now borrowing a billion or selling assets to raise a billion is no easy matter. The cost of borrowing this sort of money to buy a football club with costs spiralling out of control and the threat of exclusion from lucrative European competition if you get it wrong is not going to be cheap. Freeing up cash is a better option ** but either way you need a return and hanging your hat on the Chinese market the epicentre of snide gear as a way of getting that return is a brave gamble. And as for paid TV rights in China well just say hi to the growth in dodgy backdoor streaming to watch the games - a practice that is not uncommon on certain established forums (but not this one ahem).

The only way to do this is to buy the club for next to nothing and focus on building a new stadium and just enough investment in the team to keep it top 4 ( a bit like Wenger is doing at Arsenal). Stadium costs are exempt from the financial rules so thats okay and then go big on the Chinese market and cross your fingers. Even if the China angle doesn't really hit the jackpot Liverpool as a top 4 club in a new stadium with a good presence in the Far East market is a sellable prospect at some future stage and you may even make some money off it but at least you won't lose your shirt as the bulk of your investment is in the real estate of the stadium tied to a worldwide brand name.

If they pay too much and then borrow too much you just have G&H all over again but with a bigger debt and everyone hoping this time it works out. The smart move is waiting 12 months and look to drive the price of the club through the floor with RBS happy to get something out of the sorry mess.

** not really true I guess as in practice you gamble with other peoples money not your own.

[Beefymcfc]

Not really.

The key word is Liquid...

Definitely. Liquid is in pretty short supply these days and to buy the club, invest in players and build a new stadium you are going to need to find a huge chunk of loose change down the back of the sofa. And sofa's like that are a rare species and if you do find one odds are Sheikh Mansour is already sitting on it.

And good luck trying to get a return on your huge investment through shirt sales and TV rights in China...

So, is 'Liquid' business jargon for cash?

If he takes over at Liverpool, then we'll know he's serious. If he doesn't, then they'll just have to carry on regardless.

His intent is not really the issue. Someone like Luang can probably raise the funds to buy Liverpool but it makes no sense to buy Liverpool at the price G&H want because you also have to factor in new player costs - and Torres is right they do need 4 to 5 top class players and the cost of a new stadium to get more bums on seats to generate the match day revenue ala the Emirates otherwise you are always playing catchup. The combined cost of this could be in the region of what a billion quid give or take 10%? Very few wealthy people have this sort of money in cold hard cash. Abramovich did and Sheikh Mansour does but everyone else just borrows it against assets or liquidate other assets to free up the cash. But if you do this you want a financial return. Abramovich doesn't want a financial return and neither does the Sheikh which makes them fairly unique. Now borrowing a billion or selling assets to raise a billion is no easy matter. The cost of borrowing this sort of money to buy a football club with costs spiralling out of control and the threat of exclusion from lucrative European competition if you get it wrong is not going to be cheap. Freeing up cash is a better option ** but either way you need a return and hanging your hat on the Chinese market the epicentre of snide gear as a way of getting that return is a brave gamble. And as for paid TV rights in China well just say hi to the growth in dodgy backdoor streaming to watch the games - a practice that is not uncommon on certain established forums (but not this one ahem).

The only way to do this is to buy the club for next to nothing and focus on building a new stadium and just enough investment in the team to keep it top 4 ( a bit like Wenger is doing at Arsenal). Stadium costs are exempt from the financial rules so thats okay and then go big on the Chinese market and cross your fingers. Even if the China angle doesn't really hit the jackpot Liverpool as a top 4 club in a new stadium with a good presence in the Far East market is a sellable prospect at some future stage and you may even make some money off it but at least you won't lose your shirt as the bulk of your investment is in the real estate of the stadium tied to a worldwide brand name.

If they pay too much and then borrow too much you just have G&H all over again but with a bigger debt and everyone hoping this time it works out. The smart move is waiting 12 months and look to drive the price of the club through the floor with RBS happy to get something out of the sorry mess.

** not really true I guess as in practice you gamble with other peoples money not your own.

Fuck in ell Bob, I didn't want War and Bastard Peace!

Nice post though, but as I said ........ we'll just have to wait and see ;-)

[irblinx]

The Asian market is all about advertising and sponsorship, 90%+ of all the merchandise sold out there is knock off so there will be very little revenue from there. If this guy can make Scouse the no 1 team in China then he could bring in plenty of big sponsors but as United already have a pretty strong foothold there it may be difficult.

[edgeley blue]

Good luck to them. Why care? Lets not worry about other rich owners, we have the richest of them all!

[john68]

I think it is important to note that our owners are not only rich...but have until now acted responsibly and for the benefit of our club.
Too often, as with the Glazers, H & G and a number of other rich owners, they have acted in their own interests, which eventually have proved detrimental to their clubs.

[Dingus McDouchey]

I guess the Liverpool theme tune will become "You'll never wok alone".

Also heard the new ground will be closer to the Mersey and they will change name to Riverpool

What will become of Rucas Reiva and Kenny Dalgreesh?

[ronk]

It's not clear to me yet what type of prospective owners these are. Could be leveraged, where they have enough for a deposit and borrow the rest as a mortgage (Glazer, Thaksin, Hicks etc.) where the ultimate goal is to pay off the debt and own the full club (or at least sell for a profit) or the other type that have lots of cash and are looking for longer term returns (us, Chelsea).

There's an interesting strategy: buying debt from a bank that's desperate to unload a risky investment as a way to put pressure on Hicks and Gillet over price. It might get them Liverpool for a sensible price, but equally there may be no real interest in getting control of the football club. Their debt would be secured against the ownership of the club and they could bleed a lot out of Liverpool's ownership trying to fend them off.

At the moment Hicks has been taking an attitude that the debt is RBS problem, they're the ones most worried. Moving the debt along would mean that it could be far more aggressively pursued and the strategy of hoping the bank acquiesce in restructuring plans is no longer plausible.

So basically Luang could buy the debt at a discount from RBS and force Liverpool to pay big interest rates because Hicks won't want to default. Has a lot in common with the Magniers/McManus thing where they made the most money out of the Glazer takeover by having a failed takeover themselves. Or he might actually want to buy the club and build a stadium, either way it has to look like he's willing and able to take over Liverpool.

[Grob]

United cornered the Chinese market years ago

[Im_Spartacus]

Not really.

The key word is Liquid.

Doubt the Sheik has to call his partners to see how they feel about investing.

Huang Chung on the other hand will be blowing through his mobile minutes trying to get something together.

and that's why i'm not too bothered. He is 'wealthy' not rich beyond wildest dreams like Sheik and Roman. Sheik has richer men than him shining his shoes.

He is acting as front man for a chinese sovereign wealth fund, which by definition, being a country, and being China would have extremely deep pockets. The slightly worrying thing is, its exactly the same setup under which we were bought via Adug.

[Ted Hughes]

I guess the Liverpool theme tune will become "You'll never wok alone".

Also heard the new ground will be closer to the Mersey and they will change name to Riverpool

What will become of Rucas Reiva and Kenny Dalgreesh?

No doubt Mark Rawlenson will know.

[10.Goater_Legend]

Not really.

The key word is Liquid.

Doubt the Sheik has to call his partners to see how they feel about investing.

Huang Chung on the other hand will be blowing through his mobile minutes trying to get something together.

and that's why i'm not too bothered. He is 'wealthy' not rich beyond wildest dreams like Sheik and Roman. Sheik has richer men than him shining his shoes.

He is acting as front man for a chinese sovereign wealth fund, which by definition, being a country, and being China would have extremely deep pockets. The slightly worrying thing is, its exactly the same setup under which we were bought via Adug.

It's not the Chinese SWF that are backing him, it's rich Chinese business men. We are also not backed by a Sovereign Wealth Fund, we're owned by ADUG which is an investment vehicle which allows Shiekh Mansour to privately own us, all that has been spent on City has come from Shiekh Mansour's own pockets not a SWF.

[10.Goater_Legend]

Not really.

The key word is Liquid.

Doubt the Sheik has to call his partners to see how they feel about investing.

Huang Chung on the other hand will be blowing through his mobile minutes trying to get something together.

and that's why i'm not too bothered. He is 'wealthy' not rich beyond wildest dreams like Sheik and Roman. Sheik has richer men than him shining his shoes.

He is acting as front man for a chinese sovereign wealth fund, which by definition, being a country, and being China would have extremely deep pockets. The slightly worrying thing is, its exactly the same setup under which we were bought via Adug.

It's not the Chinese SWF that are backing him, it's rich Chinese business men. We are also not backed by a Sovereign Wealth Fund, we're owned by ADUG which is an investment vehicle which allows Shiekh Mansour to privately own us, all that has been spent on City has come from Shiekh Mansour's own pockets not a SWF.

And by the way thought I would get this in, Abu Dhabi's SWF is the richest in the world valued at £700billion where as China's is worth £200billion.