Portsmouth Takeover – Due Diligence (almost!) Completed
Posted on | July 10, 2009 | No Comments
It ’s been (and still is!) a bit like pulling teeth, but it looks like Dr Al Fahim’s (he deserves to be a Doctor if this goes through) due diligence on Portsmouth Football Club is all but complete. Just thought I’d post a few words today on how I see the situation at the moment.
Unbelievably, some fans on the internet forums are still calling into question Al Fahim’s ability to see this through! I think we have to give him the benefit of the doubt. So far, he has done everything he said he would, right up to the point now where it looks as if we are moving from the due diligence phase to the Premier League approval phase. The one issue I have seen ambiguity on is whether he is the sole purchaser, or has major investment partners. Well, with it being reported that he has now submitted his ‘fit and proper persons’ paperwork to the Premier League, he must be happy either that the structure of the takeover is settled, or that he is able to finalise it in time to satisfy the Premier League. Even if he has been playing brinkmanship with the financing of the purchase, I am sure he is able to handle it. Business deals are often done on the edge and finalised at the last minute. This is their very nature and it would certainly be no indication of ‘dodgy dealing’ if Al Fahim had in fact faced uncertainty along the way.
So, the focus will hopefully now shift towards proving to The Sun that Al Fahim and any partners in investment are indeed ‘fit and proper’, so that thier official approval can be obtained. Hang on a minute….sorry…..oh yes that’s right. It’s the Premier League that needs to approve this takeover, not The Sun newspaper. Not sure where I got that idea from!
The Premier League will undoubtedly take their time and seek to satisfy themselves on every point before they issue their consent. This will be frustrating, but you can understand their need to be sure after the Shinawatra episode. We should WELCOME the fact that the test will be a new, improved, more stringent hurdle. It will mean that everyone will know that this purchase is squeaky clean. I can’t for a moment believe that someone of the calibre of Al Fahim would embark on this hoping to pull the wool over the eyes of the Premier League. He will be confident that there should be nothing to stand in the way, so I don’t see this being an issue apart from the timescale.
If there is going to be a sticking point on the deal at this stage it will almost certainly be price. This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. But again, I can’t see it breaking the deal. Sacha Gaydamak needs to sell and everyone knows it, not least Al Fahim who is in quite a strong position to negotiate it downwards. It occurred to me that the discussions with the prospective new manager (which have undoubtedly taken place by now), may have swung towards a certain Peter Crouch. If that new manager then indicated that he could maybe ‘take him or leave him’, an opportunity would open up to release another £10m-plus in transfer funds for players who would fit into that new manager’s plans. Of course we don’t know for sure. I would prefer to keep Crouch, but would certainly sacrifice him for the completion of a takeover which would release substantial new funds for players and a long term strategy on and off the pitch.
That is what is at stake here. The long term strategy that in my twenty five years of support, Portsmouth Football Club has never had. Yes, the Gaydamak era (more like ’spell’ really) saw us win the FA Cup, but the economic crisis put paid to any long term plans that may have existed. This takeover seems to be a credible long term investment. We can’t, of course, guarantee that, but the future appears a damn site brighter than it did six months ago, and I believe we will see the deal rubber stamped within the next two weeks. If it is, we should all offer to buy Peter Storrie a drink.
Tags: Dr Al Fahim > Peter Crouch > Peter Storrie > Pompey > Portsmouth > Portsmouth takeover > Premier League > Sacha Gaydamak > Thaksin Shinawatra > The Sun
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