US Owners Exploring Sale

[grumpymort]

This business of the Americans looking to sell, perhaps, and perhaps not for the first time, all brings me back to the same questions I have had since they arrived: Why did Parish sell to them, and why did they buy in?

I remember Parish talking about his impatience to meet the milestones of his grand plan, those being training ground, academy, stadium. From what I could gather the Americans were associated with a funding boost on these fronts. That makes sense as the Americans can't spend much money on players, only infrastructure (see FFP) and it was reported that a capital investment of £50m was part of Parish selling 18% to them. In other words, he sold part of his shares to accelerate the projects, rather than plodding away trying to pay for them out of the clubs turnover.

Only, it is also reported in places that Textor paid towards the academy, or the sale of AWB. I'm not sure these stories add up. The academy was well underway before Textor arrived (though perhaps he helped), and selling AWB offset loses and/or gave us the meagre transfer budget that Hodgson somehow scrapped by on in his first spell.

Perhaps Parish got exactly what he wanted from Blitzer, Harris, and Textor? Even if selhurst park never gets so much as a lick of paint the infrastructure legacy of the training ground and academy appears to be fantastic, and to make us unrecognisable as a club behind the scenes compared to that which Parish took over. If so, then fair play. Hard to be sure, though.

Even then, why did the Americans do it? Did they expect the asset to become that much more valuable that they could cash out at a profit? That seems unrealistic, and these are shrewd people. Plus, any potential profit seems like to be modest at best. Maybe £10m or £20m? That would go a long way to keeping me happy, but it's small change to these guys. Why take the risk? Is it just part of a massive, diverse portfolio?

Parish must've known that diluting his ownership might lead to someone else having majority control. Is his position secure somehow? Even if it is, would he then just do as his new boss tells him? I'm sure he'd be happy to be superceded by someone with deep enough pockets to complete the grand vision by building a new ground (or rebuilding selhurst), but is he now in any position to control who buys the shares? What if it's a scavenger? Or a mad, irresponsible dreamer? Can Parish prevent that? Or would he just have to watch on in horror?

Of course, all these things are inherently private, and so it's very difficult to know. One thing is for sure, it's a reminder that for all the cultural and social significance, football clubs are private companies and we are paying customers. We have no influence beyond that and, unlike in other markets, do not really have the option of using the services of other, rival companies if dissatisfied with Palace.

We will not be asked to vote on this issue!

SP has no money he had to sell for the club to survive he even said this himself the only regret was he was expecting more form these Americans.

I expect he made a lot of false promises one of them being about the stadium expansion yes that is right all the way back then they put aside a lot of money and still no expansion (Other areas of the ground did need bringing up to code which cost fair amount of money)

Textor paid for the academy SP had been talking about the project for a very long time even getting on the wrong side of the locals plus the council as soon as Tex came in all that disappeared and it started. (Knowing people in that industry if you give incentives and give the right people things things get moving SP is very poor in this area)

AWB had nothing to do with it people keep wondering what happened to that money go take a look it's clear to see we spent it on players and had to fund improvements with training facilities etc.

SP did get what he wanted to not have to spend a £ of his own cash he takes out more then he puts in with all his little companies as well attached to the club.

I do believe he wanted more from them expanding the stadium 100% but the short falls on this I put down to him others have had no issues yet he has messed about with costs out of control now.

The club is worth a lot more compared to what it was so the Americans have gained also its part of portfolio.

It's not about profits that is not how it works.

People forget SP is in that position because the Americans have allowed it they don't want to be hands on and he is not running it like many others with massive loses.

The club has really over achieved.

 

[TheBigToePunt]

I think if they are serious about selling they really need to finish the Main Stand. Its harder to attract a buyer if he knows he has to come straight in and do up the ground. Granted they wont want to spend more money when they are looking to sell but they'll get a chunk of it back as their asking price for their shares will also rise

I get your point, but this is exactly what I'm wondering about. If spending, say, £150m on a new stand increased the value of their share of the club by at least £150m, or possibly more, they surely would have done it by now, whether to help sell their shares or not. I wonder if the project hasn't proceeded because it's cost exceeds its value? Perhaps it will pay for itself just fine but over a longer term than the Americans are interested in?

A bit like when you do an expensive kitchen refurb before putting your house on the market. Its a good use of money if you're staying put, but you won't get that money back if you're selling.

 

[mogrem]

SP has no money he had to sell for the club to survive he even said this himself the only regret was he was expecting more form these Americans.

I expect he made a lot of false promises one of them being about the stadium expansion yes that is right all the way back then they put aside a lot of money and still no expansion (Other areas of the ground did need bringing up to code which cost fair amount of money)

Textor paid for the academy SP had been talking about the project for a very long time even getting on the wrong side of the locals plus the council as soon as Tex came in all that disappeared and it started. (Knowing people in that industry if you give incentives and give the right people things things get moving SP is very poor in this area)

AWB had nothing to do with it people keep wondering what happened to that money go take a look it's clear to see we spent it on players and had to fund improvements with training facilities etc.

SP did get what he wanted to not have to spend a £ of his own cash he takes out more then he puts in with all his little companies as well attached to the club.

I do believe he wanted more from them expanding the stadium 100% but the short falls on this I put down to him others have had no issues yet he has messed about with costs out of control now.

The club is worth a lot more compared to what it was so the Americans have gained also its part of portfolio.

It's not about profits that is not how it works.

People forget SP is in that position because the Americans have allowed it they don't want to be hands on and he is not running it like many others with massive loses.

The club has really over achieved.

Werent there several post already about this? That the Academy was done before this? So this is another Textor myth or am I wrong?