| Ralph Reveals That Takeover Talks For Southampton Are Ongoing 13:40 - Dec 3 with 1399 views | SaintsNews |
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| Ralph Reveals That Takeover Talks For Southampton Are Ongoing on 14:16 - Dec 3 with 1348 views | dwayne_dibley |
the Red Queen says, `The rule is jam tomorrow and jam yesterday, but never jam today. ' |  |
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| Ralph Reveals That Takeover Talks For Southampton Are Ongoing on 14:20 - Dec 3 with 1338 views | Saintsforeverj |
Sounds interesting doesn't it. Ralph clearly stated a takeover is in the offering. We shall see. | |
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| Ralph Reveals That Takeover Talks For Southampton Are Ongoing on 15:50 - Dec 3 with 1238 views | saints__fan__73 |
Where in the article does RH say takeover talks are on-going??
"Yes, nearly every day I get information from Martin [Semmens]. We speak about this a lot.
"All I can say is that as soon as there is news they will tell you, everyone will know about it. There is nothing new right now but as soon as there is the club will put it out."
All this is referring to is that the club is for sale, we've known that for years.
There's nothing there to say we are in talks with a new buyer, we are merely just looking to find a buyer lol. |  |
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| Ralph Reveals That Takeover Talks For Southampton Are Ongoing on 16:31 - Dec 3 with 1203 views | TripleNiemi |
| Ralph Reveals That Takeover Talks For Southampton Are Ongoing on 14:20 - Dec 3 by Saintsforeverj |
Sounds interesting doesn't it. Ralph clearly stated a takeover is in the offering. We shall see. |
Where is Sulaiman Al Fahim these days? [Post edited 3 Dec 2021 16:33]
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| Ready and waiting to mop up those European places...... |
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| Ralph Reveals That Takeover Talks For Southampton Are Ongoing on 16:42 - Dec 3 with 1177 views | saints__fan__73 |
| Ralph Reveals That Takeover Talks For Southampton Are Ongoing on 16:31 - Dec 3 by TripleNiemi |
Where is Sulaiman Al Fahim these days? [Post edited 3 Dec 2021 16:33]
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Bradford? | |
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| Ralph Reveals That Takeover Talks For Southampton Are Ongoing on 16:44 - Dec 3 with 1182 views | SonicBoom |
The Athletic
Southampton could still be sold this year but for now they remain in Getty Images)
By Dan Sheldon Dec 3, 2021 21
It has been over a year since Joseph DaGrosa entered a period of exclusivity to purchase Southampton Football Club.
Since DaGrosa’s flirtation with buying the club in September 2020, potential new owners have continued to come forward in attempts to purchase Gao Jisheng’s 80 per cent stake in a club now into their 10th straight season as members of the Premier League. But a sale hasn’t been completed, meaning an element of uncertainty continues to hang over the St Mary’s Stadium.
In that time, two Premier League clubs – Newcastle United and Burnley – have been sold, while added investment has gone into three more – Wolverhampton Wanderers, Leeds United and West Ham United.
Gao, as is well known, chooses not to invest in Southampton and wants the club to be run as a self-sustainable entity. When the pandemic took hold last year, Southampton turned to MSD Holdings to borrow £78.8 million with the interest at 9.14 per cent, which will cost them £7.2 million per year.
The Athletic has learned that, for financial reasons, there is now a growing need for Gao to offload his stake sooner rather than later.
It’s also understood his daughter, Nelly Gao, went back to China at the beginning of the pandemic in early 2020 and is yet to return to England despite a relaxation of rules around international travel.
Nelly took a more active role at the club when she became a vice-chair of the board in June 2019, establishing herself as the direct link between Southampton and her father. But since she has been in China, the St Mary’s side have continued to be run by Martin Semmens and Toby Steele, the chief executive and managing director respectively, on a day-to-day basis.
Southampton have come close to proceeding with would-be new owners over the past year, but the pandemic and this past spring’s threat of a European Super League saw interested parties walk away from negotiations.
The latest concern shared by those with knowledge of the process is the prospect of a new international travel ban, due to the Omicron coronavirus variant. This fear, albeit minor at this stage, comes at the beginning of what is described as an important month for the club.
It is understood there are at least two interested parties at the table, and industry sources suggest there’s still a chance Southampton could be sold before the end of the year, although the fans have learnt not to get too excited by such talk, given their club has been on the market for quite some time.
It’s believed one of the suitors is keen on the kind of multi-club model currently commonplace among would-be investors in football.
Semmens previously said at a fans’ forum that the club could be sold in an instant, but that supporters wouldn’t like who it was sold to. There has been a real emphasis behind the scenes on ensuring Southampton end up in the right hands.
Yet it is minority shareholder Katharina Liebherr, rather than Gao, playing the more active role in finding a new owner. This is because when Gao took over in 2017, he agreed to a clause that would give Liebherr the power to veto any potential future sale of his majority stake. It was therefore deemed to make the most sense for her advisors – along with Semmens and Steele – to do most of the legwork when it comes to finding a buyer.
Gao will, however, have to sign off on the price, which still ultimately gives him the final say on whether any potential takeover goes through.
In essence, both parties will need to be satisfied with the would-be new owners before a deal can be done, which naturally decreases the possibility of a quick sale.
Gao has never confirmed how much he paid for his stake, although it is thought to be somewhere in the region of £180 million and that he will want to claw as much of that back as possible when selling up.
Sources indicate that, sadly for Gao, the latter is unlikely to happen given the financial impact of coronavirus on the business world.
It is widely accepted that until Southampton are under new ownership, they will always be fighting an uphill battle in terms of financial clout.
Despite the best efforts of those working behind the scenes, trying to maximise the tools at their disposal to ensure the team remains competitive, the club are essentially in stasis.
Selling Southampton hasn’t been easy, but it’s hoped white smoke – signalling a change of owner – will emerge from St Mary’s sooner rather than later.
Until then, it’s business as usual on the south coast. |  | | |
| Ralph Reveals That Takeover Talks For Southampton Are Ongoing on 17:15 - Dec 3 with 1121 views | dirk_doone |
80% only? Kat could be a big stumbling block if she hangs on to her 20% or holds out for a higher price for it. 100% would be more attractive to potential owners and that's what they'd get at most other clubs. [Post edited 3 Dec 2021 17:16]
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| Ralph Reveals That Takeover Talks For Southampton Are Ongoing on 18:07 - Dec 3 with 1059 views | Poirot |
Martin semmens mentioned on the total saints podcast that theyre currently in talks. That was around October time. |  | | |
| Ralph Reveals That Takeover Talks For Southampton Are Ongoing on 19:26 - Dec 3 with 1000 views | cocklebreath |
| Ralph Reveals That Takeover Talks For Southampton Are Ongoing on 15:50 - Dec 3 by saints__fan__73 |
Where in the article does RH say takeover talks are on-going??
"Yes, nearly every day I get information from Martin [Semmens]. We speak about this a lot.
"All I can say is that as soon as there is news they will tell you, everyone will know about it. There is nothing new right now but as soon as there is the club will put it out."
All this is referring to is that the club is for sale, we've known that for years.
There's nothing there to say we are in talks with a new buyer, we are merely just looking to find a buyer lol. |
Lol. Are you 12? We are going to be taken over at some stage unless Gao becomes a weird forever owner, obviously this would make Nicks life but it’s not going to happen |  |
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| Ralph Reveals That Takeover Talks For Southampton Are Ongoing on 19:51 - Dec 3 with 983 views | saints__fan__73 |
| Ralph Reveals That Takeover Talks For Southampton Are Ongoing on 19:26 - Dec 3 by cocklebreath |
Lol. Are you 12? We are going to be taken over at some stage unless Gao becomes a weird forever owner, obviously this would make Nicks life but it’s not going to happen |
LOL. Are you hard of thinking?
My point, you dullard, was that as much as Gao would love to sell us, there is no one wanting to buy us at present.
It's like putting a For Sale board outside my house and saying that means I'm in on going talks with a new buyer. | |
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| Ralph Reveals That Takeover Talks For Southampton Are Ongoing on 08:11 - Dec 4 with 777 views | cocklebreath |
| Ralph Reveals That Takeover Talks For Southampton Are Ongoing on 19:51 - Dec 3 by saints__fan__73 |
LOL. Are you hard of thinking?
My point, you dullard, was that as much as Gao would love to sell us, there is no one wanting to buy us at present.
It's like putting a For Sale board outside my house and saying that means I'm in on going talks with a new buyer. |
And you know that for fact ? You or I or any of us have no idea so simmer down and watch a Matt le tiss DVD | |
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| Ralph Reveals That Takeover Talks For Southampton Are Ongoing on 09:41 - Dec 4 with 715 views | Number_58 |
Jim Ratcliffe's house is only about five miles from where I live. My house is at the end of his driveway. |  | | |
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