• Nigel Adkins has been given the Tranmere job on a permanent basis signing until the end of the 25/26 season. Continue the discussion here.

take over bid

Claire

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According to Radio Merseyside Club 9 Sport???? are in talks with Peter Johnstone re a takeover!!!!\\:D/
 

bigmart

bigmart
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Ian Muir
makes me wonder why an american firm would want to take us over.
 

Ian

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Aldo
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Kingy
advanced talks apparently.
 
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Goodison
Apparently they asked for a £400,000 annual "handling fee" off Sheffield Wednesday when they attempted to take them over. Approach with caution.
 

SonkORLY?

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Eddy Sonko
Club 9 Sports is not legit
 

SonkORLY?

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No details provided on their work with sports teams/leagues, so presume it is either false or insignificant. Nick Hilton reports that C9S have experience in managing and owning sports teams and leagues; bull****. The only experience any of the C9S team have in this area is an attempt to establish a car-racing league back in 2001. After inurring losses of ~$7m, John Pritchett (C9S CEO) and his backer Bill Miller (who was also the main investor behind a failed bid to acquire the San Diego Gulls [Ice Hockey] last year, so is probably be involved in this too) were sued by shareholders, alleged of breach of contract, wrongful conversion of company monies, mismanagement, breach of fiduciary duty and fraud.

Details here and here:

http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/stories/2004/03/01/daily36.html

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/mar/09/no-home-for-hockey-sullivan/

Elsewhere, many of the other companies they have claimed to have "stabilised" (sports clothing, etc) are subsiduaries of each other, with operations ceased years ago.

And their Senior Advisor is Joe Kosich, the guy who put us up on eBay. He's an absolute piece of work.
 
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Goodison
One of the few things I have faith with PJ is that he wont sell us to a bunch of idiots.
 

SonkORLY?

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Eddy Sonko
One of the few things I have faith with PJ is that he wont sell us to a bunch of idiots.

I'd hope not. They walk the walk very well though, and I imagine they are quite charming and all. Hopefully the presence of Kosich will be enough to ring alarm bells - we already know PJ isn't his biggest fan.

In all honesty, I couldn't blame him for selling us to the first bidder at this stage in his career/life, but these guys are very bad news.
 
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Jason Koumas / John Morrissey
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It would be interesting to know who made the talks public. If it was Johnson it would seem he is seriously interested in a deal, given that a number of other investors have apparently tested the water previously. Or perhaps it is just an attempt by C9S to hype the bid ?
 
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Liam Palmer
The Americans were at PP today meeting people, including members of the coaching staff.
 

SonkORLY?

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Eddy Sonko
It would be interesting to know who made the talks public. If it was Johnson it would seem he is seriously interested in a deal, given that a number of other investors have apparently tested the water previously. Or perhaps it is just an attempt by C9S to hype the bid ?

It seems the club didn't break the story officially, they just confirmed previously unconfirmed reports when prompted.
 
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Although PJ's footballing decisions have been less than convincing since his return, I would still trust his business sense. Full due diligence will be performed, and a suspect bid rejected I would imagine: unless he decides that unless he accepts this bid he will never actually get a retirement.
 
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Just been scanning some of the other Rover sites, and they are full of Wednesday fans suggesting we should avoid our prospective buyers like the plague. Apparently their £400,000 management fee was payable annually regardless of profitability (ie. stacking further debt on to a loss making club), while their negotiations at Wednesday apparently faltered as soon as it became apparent Sheff Wed could be going down. Cash was promised up front but never materialised, and the talks became so protracted the club nearly went under (as we know) in the meantime.

Kosich was indeed associated with Dornoch Capital who stuck us on Ebay, and I have found a link involving a 'conversation' of his with Wednesday fans (apparently genuine), in which he comes across as a complete k**b.

http://www.owlstalk.co.uk/forums/index.php?showtopic=129417
 

Ian

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Ohh dear, this isn't sounding good at all.
I remember at the time PJ being completely unimpressed with seeing TRFC on Ebay, and if this fella has had anything to do with it, I'm surprised PJ is entertaining him at all.
 
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This is not looking good. Hopefully some journos can pick it up and tell the whole story.
 
O

OneNightInGayParis

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From C9S website:



  • C9S Tranmere Rovers FC Statement:
"We can confirm that CLUB 9 SPORTS has an interest in possible investment in or acquisition of Tranmere Rovers FC. As such, he have had preliminary discussions with Chairman and Majority Owner, Peter Johnson. However, those discussions remain on-going and are at a stage whereby further comment at this time is not productive."

Scary stuff ...
 

SonkORLY?

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Although PJ's footballing decisions have been less than convincing since his return, I would still trust his business sense. Full due diligence will be performed, and a suspect bid rejected I would imagine: unless he decides that unless he accepts this bid he will never actually get a retirement.

Due dilligence? Come on, this is football!

Your final point is one which I've been mulling, and obviously one which we can't possibly speculate about. C9S have failed in takeover bids elsewhere and at this stage we can only hope that they continue in that vain.
 
O

OneNightInGayParis

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I was doing a bit of surfing last night and there is a whole lot of negativity against C9S - Billsaja's posts on Owlsonline are worth a read. There does seem to be a lack of substance. Joe Kosich comes across very unfavourably - apart from his e-bay listing of Rovers (and he got that wrong by offering the club for sale when it was only PJ's 60% that was available) he seems to enjoy slagging off fans on their own forums (Sheff Wed, Norwich). Unless people are doing good and consistent impersonations of him, he comes across as an arrogant tosser - completely unprofessional. The only positive noises in respect of C9S come from their own website.

As worrying is that PJ will know this and is still willing to hold talks. Does this mean that, after 10 years of trying to sell, he is willing to leave us to our fate to retrieve some of his investment? It would be understandable from his point of view, but is a pretty terrifying thought. Despite the PJ knockers, this man has put a lot of money and time into the club and has succeeded in a remarkably short period in removing our operating losses while leaving us competitive on the pitch (partly due to Les). Whether this can be sustainable if gates drop any further is questionable, though.

He may, of course, be using C9S to generate publicity in the hope that other investors will take note. I hope to God that this is the case ...
 
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