[geoff]

I wonder if JP's statement is just a ploy till the transfer window closes just to save us getting mugged off.
His statement more or less says "not now" 

[tommcneill]

For those fans who think JP is the best thing since sliced bread please have some perspective, this man is only in it for the money. Little things are coming out about why this deal fell through the main issue was that he wanted all the money up front for his stake within a certain time frame which has not gone down well with the Chinese.

And if they are serious about buying this club they should be paying it upfront.

Sorry but if they were trying to structure the payments for buying the club then I'm happy they haven't bought us.

it's not like they are buying a Man Utd or Arsenal where the price would be 5-6x more.

[paulosull]

I wonder if JP's statement is just a ploy till the transfer window closes just to save us getting mugged off.
His statementtr more or less says "not now"

transfer market has adjusted to the new wealth that clubs will get with new TV deal

[tommcneill]

only hearing gossip that Chinese felt insulted by insistence on fee more so after financial crash in their stock market

The Chinese Stock Crash is not our problem though is it nor is it JP's

The way I see it is we have got lucky as we could have been sold before and our new owners lost a lot of money on the Chinese stock crash and then asset strip us to claw some money back.

[paulosull]

And if they are serious about buying this club they should be paying it upfront.

Sorry but if they were trying to structure the payments for buying the club then I'm happy they haven't bought us.

it's not like they are buying a Man Utd or Arsenal where the price would be 5mi-6x more.

missing the point the insistence on the fee has insulted these people especially after financial crash

[WBAinDEVON]

gutted really because i wanted for our great club to be more competitive all the hype got the better of me. oh well Probably for the best eh

[tommcneill]

missing the point the insistence on the fee has insulted these people especially after financial crash

They are insulted by an owner of a club asking for the money upfront on a club that will make them money and enhance their brand??

Ill bet JP is insulted too

and no I'm not missing the point

you are not making a point

[paulosull]

Look what little gossip I got was everything was going on on both side then financial hiccup in China spooked negotiations with one side insisting on the money which there entitled to do and the other side being insulted by this behavior as exclusivity had been agreed

[OldburyWBA]

Cut the childish petty comments. Come on lads, supposed to be grown adults not little kids

[divinewind]

I think we may have dodged a bullet.
So many dodgy owners who invest in football clubs as an assett to fall back on should their other businesses take a dip.
There have been some successful takeovers by rich investors, but none of them were Chinese.
Money didn't help wolves, villa, QPR, or blues.
I think most of us, myself included, have all got carried away with dreams of a rich owner taking us to new heights.
The other side is we could have been a cash cow to milk.

Just a shame that we have had our hopes built up and then dashed again, but hey, that's normal following Albion.

If we continue to evolve without the help of a billionaire then we will be the envy of the footballing world.
We are still one of the 40 richest clubs in the world anyway. 

[baggiejohn]

I think we may have dodged a bullet.
So many dodgy owners who invest in football clubs as an assett to fall back on should their other businesses take a dip.
There have been some successful takeovers by rich investors, but none of them were Chinese.
Money didn't help wolves, villa, QPR, or blues.
I think most of us, myself included, have all got carried away with dreams of a rich owner taking us to new heights.
The other side is we could have been a cash cow to milk.

Just a shame that we have had our hopes built up and then dashed again, but hey, that's normal following Albion.

If we continue to evolve without the help of a billionaire then we will be the envy of the footballing world.
We are still one of the 40 richest clubs in the world anyway. 

What's a cash cow?

[divinewind]

What's a cash cow?

Ask Mr Peace. 

[LongBridge Baggie1]

Ask Mr Peace. 

Bit unfair there mate love or hate Peace when he goes we will financially stable. Which is more than can be said for the likes of Trev the shed and Tony Hale

What's a cash cow?

Figure of speech, Let's a Solvent company that gets new owners only to be asset stripped and its account's raided. Milking it dry, hence the term "Cash Cow" hope this helps

[WBArgo]

Reading reports on the proposed take over it is referred to as "suspended" and in JP's statement he says:-

"It is now clear to me that this potential purchaser is unable to fulfil the terms of that agreement at this time,"

The telling part for me is the "at this time". So, could it still be on in the near future?

I think it's just formal speech, personally I wouldn't read too much into it. It's basically saying "the buyer couldn't come up with the cash" in business talk.

[LongBridge Baggie1]

At least we know there are other buyers interested. The Next time this happens there shouldn't be a sh*t and rush to complete, while also trying to make signings

[Dudleylad]

I think this proves that JP has the clubs best interests at heart.

Hes been a fantastic chairman for us no matter what anyone says.

[tex]

How do you know there are other buyers interested? Just because peace makes that statement does not make it real.

[divinewind]

Thing is though we have become one of the richest clubs in the world, yes, this is mostly down to Peace's shrewd efforts, but he is also the major shareholder.
When he finally goes and takes his money out of the club how much will we be worth, and how much will be invested by the new owner(s)?
Will we be back to square one?

When we had a board of directors and shareholders all decisions playing wise and financial went through them.
What we have now is a sole owner, or maybe a soul owner, who has the ultimate say in all decisions.
Like it or not the future of West Bromwich Albion is in the hands of one man.
What happens when he goes,or god forbid something happens to him?

He has changed the club yes, he has made us stable yes, but only while he is in charge. People seem to overlook the fact that he has made himself wealthy out of the club with minimal input from his own pocket.
He used the clubs money (allegedly) to buy out shareholders,for his own personal gain, but stalls with the clubs money when it comes to buying players for the clubs personal gain.

This, and only this is my main dislike of him.

But how wealthy will the club be when he has taken the lion's share out of it?

I think it is a bad thing when one man has total control of something,be it a business,a football club or a country.

[dont ask me to choose luv]

Thing is though we have become one of the richest clubs in the world, yes, this is mostly down to Peace's shrewd efforts, but he is also the major shareholder.
When he finally goes and takes his money out of the club how much will we be worth, and how much will be invested by the new owner(s)?
Will we be back to square one?

When we had a board of directors and shareholders all decisions playing wise and financial went through them.
What we have now is a sole owner, or maybe a soul owner, who has the ultimate say in all decisions.
Like it or not the future of West Bromwich Albion is in the hands of one man.
What happens when he goes,or god forbid something happens to him?

He has changed the club yes, he has made us stable yes, but only while he is in charge. People seem to overlook the fact that he has made himself wealthy out of the club with minimal input from his own pocket.
He used the clubs money (allegedly) to buy out shareholders,for his own personal gain, but stalls with the clubs money when it comes to buying players for the clubs personal gain.

This, and only this is my main dislike of him.

But how wealthy will the club be when he has taken the lion's share out of it?

I think it is a bad thing when one man has total control of something,be it a business,a football club or a country.

I may be wrong but won't JP only take the money offered by the new purchaser as opposed to taking anything from the clubs current finances?

[divinewind]

I may be wrong but won't JP only take the money offered by the new purchaser as opposed to taking anything from the clubs current finances?

Well, that is the question. I don't think anyone knows what the club is worth, only the figure Peace has valued it at. Does anyone know what the clubs finances are, and how much of it are tied to West Bromwich Holdings?

[tex]

The club is worth what someone will pay, if as seller you don't think its enough you don't sell, just like our transfers.

[LongBridge Baggie1]

How do you know there are other buyers interested? Just because peace makes that statement does not make it real.

Why lie? It would be so much easier to say nothing, than, give his detractors who I'm sure he's aware of a stick to beat himself with

[tex]

he needs to generate the illusion of interest to keep the price up.

[WorcsWBA]

I think this proves that JP has the clubs best interests at heart.

I don't think it proves anything, as we don't know the reasons why he's pulled out. It might be because he felt he was going to get less money than he thought he was originally, with that being sufficient justification to make him want to pull out.

[stoxman]

Well, that is the question. I don't think anyone knows what the club is worth, only the figure Peace has valued it at. Does anyone know what the clubs finances are, and how much of it are tied to West Bromwich Holdings?

The clubs finances are fully available from Companies House and are relatively transparent. The amortisation policy of any football club can make the cash flow v p&l a bit hard to follow but Albion's accounts really aren't especially opaque.

Valuation is very hard for a club such as Albion. The two most obvious metrics are either P/E ratio or DCF (Discounted Cash Flow) but neither is really appropriate as our profits and cash flows would change so drastically if we were to be relegated. No-one can really pay 10x profits (which is roughly what £150m equates to) as no-one can say with any confidence whether we will be in the Premier League for 10 years.   It is much easier to analyse and club such as Everton as the chance of relegation is much less.

If I were valuing Albion it would be based on the net cash that could be generated after financing.  If you are borrowing £120m out of £150m (Loan to Value circa 80%) , you are risking little of your own money and with potential profits of £25-40m (see my earlier note on potential profits post the new Sky deal), the ROI would be enormous  and also allow for debt to be melted off over 5 years.  I can easily see how £150m is the right sort of price. However, such a deal wouldn't allow for the expansion of wages and transfer fees that supporters would want. I would just run it largely as JP has done but simply take more out as more comes in.