Takeover

[BurleyBaggie]

Remi is ostensibly right from a finance point of view, in that a buyer in the normal business world will purchase a failing asset at the point of lowest invest but retains its long term value. Hence pre-pack admins or administration writ large. Next buying Made.com is a cracking example, retained its brand, IPr and its sourcing mechanisms for a fraction of the price of buying it near its end as a going concern, yet now has the site back up and running...all for bugga all.

Football is different though, however strong the brand and assets, ultimately it only has a single market and one way of generating relatively decent returns (give or take) and that is premier league monies. Buyers are also aware they can only ever make money on the old adage of buying cheap and selling high...it is what Jezza did with us.

As such, I do not think in the business that is football they would wait until after a fire sale in Jan, as it would have too high an impact on securing their biggest income stream. Further, buying Albion for £50m would, if they can recreate the what we had before, create a significantly higher value asset. We are overvalued in pure balance sheet terms, but in football, probably under valued. This latter point isn't conjecture, there is a swell of American interest in our clubs because they think current valuations do not reflect the potential to grow income...I am unsure on this point, but it stems from the value ratios of American sports teams to ours in Europe. 

I will be amazed if we have not been sold my mid Jan.

Pretty much spot on. 
Only thing is IMO nobody buys a club expecting to turn things around in a few months and get promotion..
It's more of a longer term investment with a 4-5 year plan.
What happens this season is more of a building exercise for the future for any new buyer.

Don't disagree, I am just minded that we have a chance of promotion this year, you just never know if you will get that again or when. So in football finance terms there is a risk balance that ay be tipping us towards an earlier sale.

Like I've said IMO our owners are the biggest problem with a sale.
Would be great if they went NOW. Sadly it's not the Chinese way.

This we both sadly agree on.