Often Partisan

Paladini: Fee To Be Agreed For BCFC In Next Ten Days

It was reported by the Birmingham Mail this evening that the Italian consortium fronted by Gianni Paladini is now hopeful of a deal being done to buy Birmingham City Football Club from Birmingham International Holdings in the next ten days.

A bid was submitted to BIH for the club around a fortnight ago which whilst rejected provided enough room for negotiation for a deal to look likely. Paladini’s consortium will now look through the current accounts for the club to complete their due dilligence before a deal is finalised. Barring any hiccups in that process it is hoped that the Gianni Paladini fronted consortium will agree a fee for the club in the next ten days.

Whilst a fee could be agreed within the next couple of weeks, the full process of a takeover will take a while longer. Any sale of BCFC has to be ratified by shareholders of Birmingham International Holdings via an Extraordinary General Meeting, as per Chapter 14 of the HKSE rules. As confirmed by this blog previously, this is a process that will take a period of time and is subject to various HKSE regulations. As a guide to the timescale for an EGM, on November 14 there were three EGMs announced to the Stock Exchange – one is set for 30 November, one is 5 December whilst the other is 29 December. BIH will require 51% of the voting shareholders to agree the proposal; Carson Yeung who owns 26% of BIH will not be allowed to vote as he is a director of BCFC. If you would like to keep an eye out for an announcement the HKSE’s rolling latest news feed is linked here.

Until an announcement is made by BIH to the HKSE we cannot know for sure when this sale process will formally begin. However, the fact that Paladini is now confident a deal can be done should bring hope that the sale of the club can be completed in time for the transfer window. Once an announcement is made a timescale will become a lot clearer.

Carson Yeung is due to be in court to face criminal charges of money laundering from November 28 but that now seems largely irrelevant as it shouldn’t affect the sale of the club at all.

Whilst it looks ever more likely that a takeover of BCFC will occur sooner rather than later I think it’s important that we as fans realise patience is still required as there is still some way to go. However, there is reason for cheer; it’s my opinion that if it looks likely that a takeover is happening (ie an EGM is called and the gears are put in motion) then I would think that any proposed sale of players in the window will be held off and Blues may be given a little leeway on the basis that money will be coming in from a takeover.

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49 Responses to “Paladini: Fee To Be Agreed For BCFC In Next Ten Days”

  • Dave Sherlock says:

    One point of reference I noticed on the Bham mail website . Paladini states we want to sign 4 or 5 players in January to help the manage strengthen the squad. I hope Clark gets to pick said players…
    Having said that I’m glad this is happening hopefully it’ll be onwards and upwards

  • Art Watson says:

    This is fantastic news and many thanks for the update.

  • Masaccio says:

    The Board could speed things up a little by recommending the bid to shareholders, this is often seen as a good sign of a non-hostile takeover for a company.

  • Mark Y says:

    I personally feel that the fact that a deal can be agreed prior to Carson’s court case does have some relevance and the timing is more than coincidence even though the sale will take a few more weeks to complete. Paladini’s consortium are keen enough to move forward now compared any the other parties who have been sniffing around who are possibly only interested at a knockdown price in the even that CY’s shares are sequestrated by the authorities following a conviction. I am warming the Paladini bid mainly because any other parties on the sideline may well be asset strippers and as it has got to be a much better situation than the rudderless void that we are in presently.

  • LJ18 says:

    OP is there info about who is behind the Paladini bid if not Briatore? Whilst, at this point, anyone would be better than the current owners, is there not a concern that we’re just swapping the frying pan for a different fire? anonymous owners who are never seen, never heard & have no connection to the club (other than the mouthpiece – Paladini)

  • Blueboy88 says:

    Whatever happened to the mystery Chinese-Hong Kong consortium ?

    & Thats why we should welcome the Paladini bid , with all our reservations , & get behind them.
    Simply , they really want to be involved & invest in the the Club ,
    & Similarly to Gold & Sullivan 20 years ago , there is nobody else who is
    willing to put their hard earned , where their mouth is..

  • Evesham Blue says:

    PP hasnt said a word yet. Doesnt matter what Paladini says. I just hope that the CY court case forces them to sell now.

    Does the consortium look through the parent companies books as part of the due dilegence? If so then that will throw another spanner in the works

  • Terry says:

    The sooner this lot go, the better. The club is slowing dying with them in charge

  • Evesham Blue says:

    Well one thing is for sure we will get 100% more communication from the board should this go through. Perhaps they are negotiating PP’s brucey bonus severance payement? Probably as much as Zigic’s wages!

  • Mark Y says:

    I see the following comment from Paladini in the Daily Mail as very interesting and positive.He said: ‘That means delivering a stadium that preferably is multi- purpose, at the heart of the community, and able to host concerts and big set-piece events alongside world-class sport.’ This is a new and possibly exiting development. Is St Andrews to re-developed or sold off to fund a new stadium?

  • DoctorD says:

    As I have said before, if the new owners come in we will simply see one set of problems being replaced by others.

    The take-over is not a panacea at all but I doubt it could be any worse than the current situation.

    So fans can expect to get just as irate as before — but this time about a whole heap of other “issues”. My big fear is that Paladini’s gang have unrealistic, over-ambitious expectations and en up knackering the solid, day-tp-day running of the club. On the plus side, the guy can speak English, lives in the country and is not under arrest.

  • andy says:

    I think as far as Paladini is concerned, it is a matter of crossing the the T’s and dotting the I’s before the transfer window opens. Not only to recruit new blood but more importantly Paladini wants to offer Jack Butland a new contract and also avert any potential fire sale to keep the club afloat. Im not too excited over this latest news because this statement has not come from the man himself, Peter Pannu.

  • Gary R says:

    Almajir – Can you please tell me why Paladini has to look through BIHL’s books, considering it’s BCFC he’s buying? This makes little/no sense to me? And do you think the fact they’re allowing Paladini and Co to look through the books means that a deal is nearly agreed in principle e.g. a bit like a player that’s allowed to talk personal terms with another club despite a fee not being agreed, on the basis they want to deal to go through quickly? Thanks

    • almajir says:

      Where has it been said he’s looking through BIHL’s books?

      As for “agreed in principle”… no. I think they’re maybe in the same ballpark so they’re willing to try and nail it down, but I can’t say that I know that they’re “agreed in principle”.

  • Paul Carter - The Voice Of Reason says:

    was reported by the Birmingham Mail this evening that the Italian consortium fronted by Gianni Paladini is now hopeful of a deal being done to buy Birmingham City Football Club from Birmingham International Holdings in the next ten days.

    Hopeful ie the offer gets accepted by the 51% needed. Those 51% will be losing more than half on their investment, a big loss both financially and to their reputation.

    Am not sure it will be passed

  • andy says:

    Paladini says a lot of things in public and what he is doing is saying what we supporters want to hear, everything he says is what we hope for but we cannot take anything seriously until Peter Pannu makes a statement and remember last time? BIHL dismissed any contact with the italian consortium! That doesnt seem the case this time around but whether any deal within 10 days can be taken seriously isnt down to what paladini says but what Pannu says and he is saying nothing.

  • Atahualpa is a BlueNose says:

    Again the report has come from Paladini.

    Nothing from BCFC, BIHL or PP.

    Paladini seems to be desperate to push the deal through quickly and is banking on the structure of payments his group is offering to be accepted by BIHL’s shareholders. I for one sincerely hope it is rejected. The whole deal seems to hinge on whether Blues will get promoted this season or not. It is a gamble and I believe we should have had our fill of those by now. His backers seem to want to make a down payment and then pay the majority of the rest of the price as and when Blues go up; minimum investment and maximum return. It is the accepted way of trying to conduct business but football cannot be treated in such a manner.

    Just hoping that another bid does materialise from somewhere at the last moment – there was some ‘outsiders’ who were treated to an evening at St Andrew’s some weeks ago, and that before he departs for pastures new, PP does the club and himself justice by getting us another deal from another consortium. If you think that a ‘local’ spokesperson with Italian backers is the answer and that CY and his crew were mysterious, well, they’ve probably got plenty of surprises in store…

    • Oldbluenose says:

      I also am filled with trepidation over the Paladini offer, !!.

      As Atahualpa says, let us hope that this ” smokes-out ” any other bids that MAY BE awaiting, ?.

  • prewarblue says:

    Anybody who wants to inspect the books of B.I.H will have to go to the Hong Kong sewage treatment works reclaimation yard

  • Wingman Blue says:

    It now seems pretty certain that if Carson clings on into 2013, we’ll lose anything of value that can be sold, starting with Jack Butland and Nathan Redmond – and for what? Replacements that turn out to be of a lower calibre? We could never afford players similar to JB and NR…Paladini ‘s consortium might turn out to be a leaky lifeboat, but surely it’s a better bet than staying on the sinking ship?

    • Gary R says:

      I really don’t understand that animosity toward Paladini. He could be the bloody person that saves this club, let alone this season, and yet people are suggesting we’re better off “waiting” for someone better to come along. Let’s be clear on this: There is NO ONE else. There are NO other bidders, this is it, people. Paladini or a future for the club with over-aged freebies and languishing in the lower leagues with gates less than 10, 000. Even if Paladini came to Blues and replicated what he did at QPR, is that worse than what the future with BIHL would be? NO, nowhere near as bad. People need to get some perspective.

  • welfordblue says:

    This just in form BCFC website.

    Acting chairman Peter Pannu has urged Blues supporters to only rely on formal stock exchange announcements regarding the future ownership of the football club.Responding to further speculation, Pannu told bcfc.com: “There are no active negotiations with the group involving Gianni Paladini or any of his associates.

    “Should there be any agreement reached, there shall be formal announcements made in Hong Kong and also in the UK. I would urge that only official information should be relied upon and not rumours or speculation.”

    Is Paladini trying to call PP and CY Bluff?

  • CORKYBLUE says:

    IM SORRY BUT I DONT THIK THIS TAKEOVER WILL HAPPEN SOON, AS IM MY OPINION CY AND PP WILL DRAG US DOWN LOWER .THAN THE GUTTER. AND IMCONVINCED THAT THEY WILL NOT SELL FORLESSTHAM 40MILLION.ALSO I DONT THINK ANY ANNOUNCEMENT WILL BE MADE BEFORE CY APPEARS AT HIS COURT CASE..BUT I WILL BE CHEERING ON THE BLUESON SAT V MR POTATOHEAD,,,K,R.O.

    • almajir says:

      Hi, Corky

      thanks for commenting but please can you turn off Caps Lock next time? Thanks

      • Jay Sidney says:

        ..and perhaps more use of the space bar, too…

        More seriously, Corky reckons Carson Yeung will stick out for £40 million. Can’t see him getting that given the state BCFC is sadly in.

        However, the Paladini idea of buying Blues via a down payment followed by instalments does tend to suggest he and his backers ain’t particularly flush in mdern footballing terms. Who is checking through their books?

  • Kaje says:

    An official BCFC announcement today suggests that the rumours are, unfortunately, unfounded.

    http://www.bcfc.com//news/article/takeover-update-487773.aspx?pageView=full

    comment edited

  • CORKYBLUE says:

    HAS ANYBODY ELSE HEARD THAT THE PALADINI BIDHAS BEEN TURNED DOWN ?

    • Kaje says:

      The initial bid was, then Paladini et al went back in with an improved offer – this is the one we’re currently debating as sources close to Paladini and our local journalists (Ross and Tattum) suggest the bid has been accepted, whilst Pannu is suggesting there are no ‘active talks’.

      At this time, we do not know whether the current bid has been accepted or turned down.

      • Jay Sidney says:

        Interesting comment, Kaje.

        Who are the sources close to Gianni Paladini you mentioned in your posting?

        Furthermore, have (Tom) Ross and (Colin) Tattum ACTUALLY suggested the latest Paladini bid HAS been accepted? That does not sound like responsible journalism.

  • bluenose 11 says:

    looks like they are pulling the plug now anyway seems pannu is playing very dangerous games to me
    kro

  • Tuscany says:

    Paladini is the only interested party, spent time and money to acquire the club for months, who is preparing the offer, unfortunately Pannu is playing an unfair game, which might be fatal. believe me it’s the only one who can bring back the BCFC in the premier league right now.


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