Ipswich takeover

[GMF 736]

2 minutes ago, Nuff Said said:

It's not really £80 million though is it? He bought the debt at a much reduced rate, but the £80 million assumes it's £32 million I believe. Then the club have either paid him, or racked up interest at what I think was not a particularly attractive rate, and there have been other creative financial tricks too. It probably is true to say at a price for the club of £17 million, he's not making a profit, but I doubt he's actually down anything like £80 million.

The loan notes still exist. ME purchased them from Aviva at a discounted price, but he still owns the right to be paid the value of the loan notes when they're due to mature in 2026. Whether he assigns the rights to the loans notes to the purchasers, or retains them for himself, remains to be seen - assuming the deal is ever done. ME may just be proposing to write off other debts, rather than the loan notes. Time will tell.

[Nuff Said 5,092]

1 hour ago, GMF said:

The loan notes still exist. ME purchased them from Aviva at a discounted price, but he still owns the right to be paid the value of the loan notes when they're due to mature in 2026. Whether he assigns the rights to the loans notes to the purchasers, or retains them for himself, remains to be seen - assuming the deal is ever done. ME may just be proposing to write off other debts, rather than the loan notes. Time will tell.

If the loan notes aren't part of the deal, that would make the price of the club, or the investment needed, £49 million wouldn't it? Surely no-one would consider that a sensible price to pay.

[Tony Swallow 1]

He regularly puts in about £7m a year to keep the club afloat. ITFC are into ME for at least £80m.

When he took over the club the contract was that he had to walk away with any debt if he sold it. The club will be sold debt free and the price is actually reported to be anything up to £30m

[nutty nigel 7,513]

26 minutes ago, Tony Swallow said:

He regularly puts in about £7m a year to keep the club afloat. ITFC are into ME for at least £80m.

When he took over the club the contract was that he had to walk away with any debt if he sold it. The club will be sold debt free and the price is actually reported to be anything up to £30m

So what denomination of banknote are you considering waving at me this time?

When we eventually play each other again...

[Mullet 293]

6 hours ago, Crabbycanary3 said:

Sent by a friend who is a Binner. At least some people are happy about this 😞 

 

 

 

They're not 2 meters apart, fine them all £200

[Tony Swallow 1]

22 minutes ago, nutty nigel said:

So what denomination of banknote are you considering waving at me this time?

When we eventually play each other again...

Dunno but it looks like it will be Dollar bills.

[Kenny Foggo 1,116]

51 minutes ago, Tony Swallow said:

He regularly puts in about £7m a year to keep the club afloat. ITFC are into ME for at least £80m.

When he took over the club the contract was that he had to walk away with any debt if he sold it. The club will be sold debt free and the price is actually reported to be anything up to £30m

Hideous club and fans ... Hope it fails miserably. Still remember Gunny being taunted after he lost his child... Hope they go bust.

[Kenny Foggo 1,116]

1996 when they attacked our players on the pitch and one fan complained Gunny had punched him....went for treatment and then ran off.. morons to a man

Edited March 4, 2021 by Kenny Foggo

[Mullet 293]

On 26/02/2021 at 14:23, dylanisabaddog said:

An American consortium is buying out Evans for £17m with his debt being written off. Lambert to be replaced by Paul Cook. 

Reported in The Athletic so not a hoax

Evans PA starts interviewing candidates

Edited March 1, 2021 by Mullet

[GMF 736]

19 hours ago, Nuff Said said:

If the loan notes aren't part of the deal, that would make the price of the club, or the investment needed, £49 million wouldn't it? Surely no-one would consider that a sensible price to pay.

It's certainly true that the price paid will reflect, to a certain degree, the future loan liabilities, but, the honest answer is that we don't know and won't unless a deal is completed. 

[FenwayFrank 2,457]

Cook due to be announced today, let’s hope this isn’t their Alex Neil moment

[dylanisabaddog 4,877]

16 hours ago, Tony Swallow said:

He regularly puts in about £7m a year to keep the club afloat. ITFC are into ME for at least £80m.

When he took over the club the contract was that he had to walk away with any debt if he sold it. The club will be sold debt free and the price is actually reported to be anything up to £30m

It's quite clear that the debt to Evans will be written off in full but not even a deluded American would pay £30m for a loss making business with no assets. I'm amazed someone will pay £17m. Please don't tell me that the stands/buildings at Portman Road are an asset. They are only of any use to a football team and if the football team stopped using the ground they would become a liability as someone would have to pay to remove them. 

And although there are 2 or 3 relatively talented youngsters, they are Championship players at best. 

It looks to me like Evans has got a good deal. He's got £17m for something that was costing him £5m a year. Although the accounts show a £100m debt, £25m of that was profit on buying the £32m debt from Aviva and another huge chunk was unpaid interest at a rate way above base. I find it rather amusing that a grubby ticket tout has lost quite a lot of money on an even grubbier football club. At least on this occasion it looks like local traders and St Johns Ambulance will get paid but if I was doing business with them in the future I'd be wanting money up front. The new lot have a distinct whiff about them

[FenwayFrank 2,457]

Some binners seem to think the yanks are hoping to make a quick profit, get them mid table in the championship and sell them on again. There’s so much that can go wrong, and I hope it does 😁

[Graham Paddons Beard 2,424]

1 hour ago, FenwayFrank said:

Cook due to be announced today, let’s hope this isn’t their Alex

Edited March 2, 2021 by Graham Paddons Beard

[alex_ncfc 649]

6 minutes ago, Graham Paddons Beard said:

Can someone provide a bit of history for Cook ? Has he had success before ? 

Took Wigan up to the Championship and was doing fairly OK until a points deduction. Also got a couple of promotions from League Two under his belt. Has done well in the lower leagues but nothing for them to get too excited about. Fingers crossed it goes as well as the previous two Paul's.

[dylanisabaddog 4,877]

9 minutes ago, Graham Paddons Beard said:

Can someone provide a bit of history for Cook ? Has he had success before ? 

He played for us didn't he? As a manager he did well at Wigan. But he is more Mick McCarthy than Daniel Farke 

[C.I.D 302]

They're very excited about their new Messiah though ................promotion is nailed on now.........apparently 🥳

[Mason 47 1,373]

Maybe I don't spend enough time looking outside the yellow + green, but I really have no idea who Paul Cook is or why certain parties are so excited about it.

You'd think they'd netted Neil Warnock 

[Nuff Said 5,092]

14 minutes ago, Mason 47 said:

Maybe I don't spend enough time looking outside the yellow + green, but I really have no idea who Paul Cook is or why certain parties are so excited about it.

You'd think they'd netted Neil Warnock 

Well they had Mick McCarthy, but he wasn't good enough apparently. Cardiff might disagree. 😉

[Norfolk Mustard 94]

I'd like to see the Old Farm Derby being played out in the Premier League - however I suspect that's unlikely to happen in my lifetime...

[keelansgrandad 6,679]

4 minutes ago, Norfolk Mustard said:

I'd like to see the Old Farm Derby being played out in the Premier League - however I suspect that's unlikely to happen in my lifetime...

I agree. Many would not like it but I think the stronger that East Anglia is, the better for all it must be.

[......and Smith must score. 1,336]

10 minutes ago, Norfolk Mustard said:

I'd like to see the Old Farm Derby being played out in the Premier League - however I suspect that's unlikely to happen in my lifetime...

Unless you're under 21 that's quite possible 😁

[Hairy Canary 668]

3 hours ago, dylanisabaddog said:

 

It looks to me like Evans has got a good deal. He's got £17m for something that was costing him £5m a year. Although the accounts show a £100m debt, £25m of that was profit on buying the £32m debt from Aviva and another huge chunk was unpaid interest at a rate way above base. I find it rather amusing that a grubby ticket tout has lost quite a lot of money on an even grubbier football club. At least on this occasion it looks like local traders and St Johns Ambulance will get paid but if I was doing business with them in the future I'd be wanting money up front. The new lot have a distinct whiff about them

Interesting points Dylan.

However way you cut it Evans has lost a fair bit, at a guess around £50m, and is looking down the barrel of £5m more every year. Taking that into account it must be pretty likely that his motivation is getting shot of that millstone rather than any assurances that the club's interests are safeguarded. There has been nothing in the media about plans for investing in the team or infrastructure so far, just money to buy out Evans.

The consortium is not looking to risk it's own cash as they are borrowing the £17m, hardly a massive amount in today's market. That means, unless they are looking to borrow more, the club are going to have to trim costs by £5m a year, plus enough to pay interest on the loan (£1m a year?) and pay back the loan. That is one big cost cutting exercise coming up by the looks of it. 

The fact that the cash is linked to a pension fund is interesting too. That's not normally the sort of enterprise that would lend cash to a high-risk enterprise like a loss making L1 football club! The lenders must be putting some sort of safeguard in place though it's hard to see what assets can be used to provide security.  

Edited March 2, 2021 by Hairy Canary

[BroadstairsR 2,138]

1 hour ago, Mason 47 said:

Maybe I don't spend enough time looking outside the yellow + green, but I really have no idea who Paul Cook is or why certain parties are so excited about it.

You'd think they'd netted Neil Warnock 

He played six games for City way back when.

He was the manager of Wigan the last time we played them in the Championship, Farke's  promotion season. I believe we drew 1-1 with Cook getting high praise for his work at the club. Things subsequently went askew, I believe. He has a very decent mangerial record in the lower leagues.

It is of no matter, however. ITFC has been jinxed for years with everything they try going ape-****. Fail is their middle name, disappointment their lot.

You'll see!!!!

I feel sorry for Cook as he seems a decent sort.

This takeover confuses me. I cannot glean one grain of sense from it all. The binners are over the moon and already talking Premier League ambitions. They do have a right to be pleased as things could hardly have been worse for them under Lambert, but it all seems fishy to me.

TWTD has evolved from reporting the longest inquest in footballing history to complete OTT positivety in the course of one short week.

They are easily pleased these days. 

Edited March 2, 2021 by BroadstairsR

[dylanisabaddog 4,877]

22 minutes ago, Hairy Canary said:

Interesting points Dylan.

However way you cut it Evans has lost a fair bit, at a guess around £50m, and is looking down the barrel of £5m more every year. Taking that into account it must be pretty likely that his motivation is getting shot of that millstone rather than any assurances that the club's interests are safeguarded. There has been nothing in the media about plans for investing in the team or infrastructure so far, just money to buy out Evans.

The consortium is not looking to risk it's own cash as they are borrowing the £17m, hardly a massive amount in today's market. That means, unless they are looking to borrow more, the club are going to have to trim costs by £5m a year, plus enough to pay interest on the loan (£1m a year?) and pay back the loan. That is one big cost cutting exercise coming up by the looks of it. 

The fact that the cash is linked to a pension fund is interesting too. That's not normally the sort of enterprise that would lend cash to a high-risk enterprise like a loss making L1 football club! The lenders must be putting some sort of safeguard in place though it's hard to see what assets can be used to provide security.  

It's all very interesting. Last time this happened they were waving £10 notes but then the awful truth sunk in. They're a bit more circumspect this time and so they should be. Sheepshanks attached all sorts of conditions to the Evans purchase but Evans won't be remotely concerned and will just want his money and run. 

Is it Ipswich Town that is borrowing the money or the consortium? It's all a bit vague and the more I read the more I smile. Thank God it's not us 

[Nuff Said 5,092]

There’s a really interesting article in The Athletic about the takeover. Of course, you have to wade  through the usual stuff about the glorious history, but it offered a fresh perspective on Evans. I won’t quote it all, we’ve had that debate, but hopefully it’s ok to include a snippet: 

 

‘ “I enjoy his company,” said one EFL chairman. “I find him to be very intelligent; a thinker and a planner. He’s dealing with a lot of stuff with Ipswich. I’m sure his own business has cratered during COVID too.

“I’ve never got any problems with football club owners that pay their bills on time and pay their staff on time — there’s a lot of **** owners out there that don’t.

“He might not have got the right managers or made the fans happy enough, but Marcus Evans is one of the good owners.” ‘

Edited March 2, 2021 by Nuff Said

[Surfer 1,547]

The Athletic also suggested the lead investor’s company invests  in sports franchise led mix use developments in enterprise zones. Which includes Pheonix Rising FC - a very nice play on words but I’ve never heard of them. And if you follow the link to their company they talk a lot about the tax advantages of developing there. 
 

So yes it’s fair to assume a major cost cutting exercise is about to happen at ITFC, the other relevant question though is - is Ipswich already a “free port” or about to be declared one by HM Government, which could unlock all sorts of real estate development tax incentive and planning permission “benefits” to “external investors”? 

[sgncfc 1,223]

11 minutes ago, Nuff Said said:

There’s a really interesting article in The Athletic about the takeover. Of course, you have to wade  through the usual stuff about the glorious history, but it offered a fresh perspective on Evans. I won’t quote it all, we’ve had that debate, but hopefully it’s ok to include a snippet: 

 

‘ “I enjoy his company,” said one EFL chairman. “I find him to be very intelligent; a thinker and a planner. He’s dealing with a lot of stuff with Ipswich. I’m sure his own business has cratered during COVID too.

“I’ve never got any problems with football club owners that pay their bills on time and pay their staff on time — there’s a lot of **** owners out there that don’t.

“He might not have got the right managers or made the fans happy enough, but Marcus Evans is one of the good owners.” ‘

"He's dealing with a lot of stuff at Ipswich"

Surely, stuff of his own making? Rubbish academy with no investment; he took over part of their training ground to secure personal loans; sold their better players year after year to reduce trading losses; consistently employed bad managers and sacked the one decent one he accidentally found. Now he's sold out for £17m having invested almost £100m, leaving the new owners with almost no assets, very few decent players and an annual ongoing loss of between £6 and 7m. 

If that makes him a good owner that could be what's wrong with football in the EFL!

[Graham Paddons Beard 2,424]

11 minutes ago, sgncfc said:

"He's dealing with a lot of stuff at Ipswich"

Surely, stuff of his own making? Rubbish academy with no investment; he took over part of their training ground to secure personal loans; sold their better players year after year to reduce trading losses; consistently employed bad managers and sacked the one decent one he accidentally found. Now he's sold out for £17m having invested almost £100m, leaving the new owners with almost no assets, very few decent players and an annual ongoing loss of between £6 and 7m. 

If that makes him a good owner that could be what's wrong with football in the EFL!

“He might not have got the right managers” is like saying

“Dominic Cummins may not have got everything right with his trip to Barnard Castle” 

[wcorkcanary 4,329]

20 hours ago, Kenny Foggo said:

Hideous club and fans ... Hope it fails miserably. Still remember Gunny being taunted after he lost his child... Hope they go bust.

A prime example of a crowd mentality sinking to the lowest common denominator. Anyone who took part that shameful day deserves every bit of bad fortune going spare in the universe.