Just to play Devil's Advocate

Where has Delia ever come out and said that she is holding out for every red cent she can get her hands on? Yes, I'm sure she'd like to see her money back, but consider this:

She (And Michael, who everyone conveniently forgets!) could do a deal with a buyer or consortium to sell every share they have for a pound. By law, the buyer would then be obligated to offer for all other shares in the company. I'm not a financial type, but I believe they are obligated to make a "fair" offer for those shares, so their supposed face value would not be an unreasonable starting point for calculation. That would also not preclude other shareholders from doing a deal with the buyer should they choose to do so. BUT - they are not under any obligation to do a deal of any sort - and neither Delia & Michael.

The major sticking point is surely the loans. Any prospective buyer, on taking control of the club, MUST refinance the loans. Good luck in today's environment. The Director's loans etc. could possibly be negotiated into abeyance, but they must refinance the loans. I see precisely no chance of the banks accepting a debt buy-up a la Ipswich as we have real assets.

The Scum owed over ?30m against a sum total of f**k-all squared in a box. Their biggest asset was effectively a piece of paper saying that they could play in the Championship (Could be wrong here, they could own their training ground). We, on the other hand, own a stadium, training ground, and various other land assets and interests in companies which are worth a bob or two and, in extremis, could be flogged off. There's still value there for the banks and they will want their pound of flesh while there's any chance they can get their paws on it.

I can quite easily believe that should someone come along who can and will take on the loans and have a significant amount of cash left over after the compulsory offer for the other shares, Delia and Michael would take it. Show them you have the cash and the best interests of the club at heart and you won't see their arses for dust.

This brings me on to something else: Administration, held up by the ignorant as the panacea for all our woes. Simply pop the club into administration and everything will be rosy. WRONG. We will lose every asset we have and there is still NO guarantee whatsoever that a new buyer or owner will come along. It can help you out of the s**t or it can be the beginning of the end. We need to be very, very careful and very, very desperate before we contemplate that.

Posted By: Iwan Husarmi on May 15th 2009 at 20:32:46

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