S'poreans want to buy Newcastle United

[kobayashiGT]

S'poreans want to buy Newcastle United

source: https://mothership.sg/2020/08/singapore-investors-newcastle-united/

Singaporean entrepreneurs, Nelson Loh and Terence Loh, have put in a bid to buy English Premier League club Newcastle United.

Together with another person, Evangeline Shen, who is also part of the bid, they are part of the Bellagraph Nova (BN) Group.

In "advanced stage of negotiation"

In a statement to CNA, BN Group said that they are in an "advanced stage of negotiation", after already providing a letter of intent and a proof of funds.

BN Group also said that it has roped in former England captain and Newcastle player Alan Shearer, as well as former Newcastle forward Michael Chopra, to back the bid.

It added, according to CNA:

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"BN Group’s founders have declared their willing to massively contribute to the development of the club through their solid and international structure and a combined business/sport devoting mindset."

 

Who are they?

According to its official website, BN group is an established multinational company that owns 31 entities across 100 countries and is worth US$12 billion (S$15.6 billion).

Its business activities cut across various industries, including luxury, consumer lifestyle, financial services, and real estate.

One of its most well-known subsidiaries, Bellagraph Jewelry, notably famed for holding the world record for highest ever online single sale transaction.

The Lohs are cousins and former investment bankers at JP Morgan.

They also co-founded Novena Global Lifecare Group in 2010.

First Singaporeans to own an EPL club?

If BN Group's bid goes through, the Lohs will be the first Singaporeans to own an EPL club.

Peter Lim, who now owns Spanish team Valencia, came close in 2010 when he attempted to take over Liverpool.

Founded in 1892, Newcastle is a strongly supported club that finished the 2019-2020 EPL season in 13th place.

The club has won four first division/ League titles and six FA Cups.

They are eighth in the all-time Premier League table and have the ninth-highest total of major honours won by an English club with 11 wins.

Previous bid fell through

Before BN Group expressed their interest, Newcastle was offered a £300 million (SS$538.2 million) bid funded by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF).

The bid was led by British financier Amanda Staveley, but PIF was set to take an 80 per cent stake.

The bid fell through in June after being scrutinised under the Premier League's owners' and directors' test.

The test is a set of rules to which owners and directors -- or potential owners and directors -- must adhere to.

Some of the the disqualifying factors include criminal convictions, a ban by a sporting or professional body, or breaches of certain key football regulations.

Problems with the takeover process stemmed from Saudi Arabia's questionable human rights record and accusations of TV piracy, although the country has denied it is behind the illegal broadcasting of EPL matches.

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If they won the bid, does that means that Singaporean get to watch EPL for FREE? 😍

 

[Beregond]

I think they want alan shearer as manager.

Never learn from lim.

That time fail with gary nevile

[Spring]

I always question motives of potential buyers.

Of course being a fan, I won't see eye to eye with most of these owners as most of them want to make money out of their acquisition. Don't get me wrong, If they can make money whilst fulfilling the main objective of a football club which is to win silverware then fine but more often than not, these objectives contradict each other.

I often hear these potential owners saying naturally they want success for the club otherwise how to make money but more often than not $ rules. Running a football club is very different from running a business. Normal business acumen and decisions don't always apply. Even a shrewd businessman like Peter Lim is struggling at Valencia. 

So far, only Roman A (Chelsea) and Sheikh Mansour (Man City) seems to be owners who are genuinely interested in the welfare and success of the Football Club first and foremost. Many jealous fans have labelled the 2 as money launderers using the Club to launder their money. My answer has always been, prove it otherwise its just speculation.

We shall see the motives of these Singaporeans and for the sake of the loyal Toon Army, I hope they turn out to be genuine buyers with good football intentions. Spoken by me as a fan............

[ToyotaShuttle]

21 minutes ago, Spring said:

I always question motives of potential buyers.

Of course being a fan, I won't see eye to eye with most of these owners as most of them want to make money out of their acquisition. Don't get me wrong, If they can make money whilst fulfilling the main objective of a football club which is to win silverware then fine but more often than not, these objectives contradict each other.

I often hear these potential owners saying naturally they want success for the club otherwise how to make money but more often than not $ rules. Running a football club is very different from running a business. Normal business acumen and decisions don't always apply. Even a shrewd businessman like Peter Lim is struggling at Valencia. 

So far, only Roman A (Chelsea) and Sheikh Mansour (Man City) seems to be owners who are genuinely interested in the welfare and success of the Football Club first and foremost. Many jealous fans have labelled the 2 as money launderers using the Club to launder their money. My answer has always been, prove it otherwise its just speculation.

We shall see the motives of these Singaporeans and for the sake of the loyal Toon Army, I hope they turn out to be genuine buyers with good football intentions. Spoken by me as a fan............

But if the club doesn't make money then how will the club exists? Fan donations? Or fan donations from rich billionaire owners?

[Karoon]

Bluff one lah. Just want free publicity.

[Lala81]

This company and people are very fishy. 12 billion dollar company hahaha.

[Karoon]

10 minutes ago, Lala81 said:

This company and people are very fishy. 12 billion dollar company hahaha.

Yah... sounds like marketing fluff. The only BN with that kind of money belongs to one mr najib. 😁

But maybe they can pull off a Glazers-man utd kind of deal. Borrow heavily to purchase the shares, pledge the loan against the club assets, pay ownself dividends and wait to flip. 

[Albeniz]

Can our infamous $2 local company also able to buy an EPL Football Club?

[Spring]

2 hours ago, ToyotaShuttle said:

But if the club doesn't make money then how will the club exists? Fan donations? Or fan donations from rich billionaire owners?

I nvr say don't make money. What I say is money shld not be the be all and end all of the owner's objectives unlike normal business. 

U need to invest in the club in areas like player recruitment, facilities, youth set up etc. It means u going to lose alot before u can even smell any returns. U must be in for the long haul, this could mean even when u start making money; u might hv to take a step back n lose money again as football moves in cycles. If u can't accept this kind of roller coaster ride then best u don't buy a football club.

With all due respect, I don't think u are a football fan as your post sounds exactly like what I fear these perspective buyers think.

Footnote: Roman Abramovich has spent more than 1bil on Chelsea since he took over in 2004. He has lost money for many years and only the last 7-8 years (I think) has Chelsea started to post returns and even in between this 7-8 yrs, there were some losses posted. If he sells Chelsea today, he would definitely make a nice profit but is any businessman willing to plough money in for 16 yrs and only see the returns when he sells?

[Beregond]

2 hours ago, ToyotaShuttle said:

But if the club doesn't make money then how will the club exists? Fan donations? Or fan donations from rich billionaire owners?

the club must make money, but money make from the club must go toward club investment player investment stadium explansion etc.

the money cannot go into the new owner personal pocket. and new owner attitude must be bringing  the club to new height, 

not how much the club will be worth is a few years or how much profit selling his star players can get him .

peter lim is a bad example. he interfere with the transfer cos he got business dealing with the owner of the other club which he sell and buy players with 

Edited August 17, 2020 by Beregond

[ToyotaShuttle]

22 hours ago, Spring said:

I nvr say don't make money. What I say is money shld not be the be all and end all of the owner's objectives unlike normal business. 

U need to invest in the club in areas like player recruitment, facilities, youth set up etc. It means u going to lose alot before u can even smell any returns. U must be in for the long haul, this could mean even when u start making money; u might hv to take a step back n lose money again as football moves in cycles. If u can't accept this kind of roller coaster ride then best u don't buy a football club.

With all due respect, I don't think u are a football fan as your post sounds exactly like what I fear these perspective buyers think.

Footnote: Roman Abramovich has spent more than 1bil on Chelsea since he took over in 2004. He has lost money for many years and only the last 7-8 years (I think) has Chelsea started to post returns and even in between this 7-8 yrs, there were some losses posted. If he sells Chelsea today, he would definitely make a nice profit but is any businessman willing to plough money in for 16 yrs and only see the returns when he sells?

You are right. I am not a football fan (nor a sports fan) but you don't need to fear as I cannot afford a team anyway. I just want to give the perspective from someone who isn't a fan. 

I think most businessman can understand that they need to invest money for the long haul (not lose money hor) before there can be a chance of seeing returns in the business so that isn't the issue. The real issue is that the fans expect you to keep ploughing money in without being able to see any returns at all. 

Frankly I don't see the problem with a club that is run like a business. The problem right now is that rich tycoons are throwing free money into certain clubs and driving up the costs (player salaries etc) for all the other clubs so they cannot compete. Without the likes of Roman, you could be seeing a much more competitive and fair circuit where you don't need a billionaire to back you before you can even think about existing.

In an extreme scenario where every club is backed by a billionaire, how many do you think can be profitable or breakeven?

[ToyotaShuttle]

On 8/17/2020 at 12:12 PM, Lala81 said:

This company and people are very fishy. 12 billion dollar company hahaha.

Never heard of them before..... but they claim to have shown proof of funds? will Newcastle's owner come out and refute it if it isn't true?

You work in medical right? Have you heard of their Novena Global Lifecare before?

[ToyotaShuttle]

22 hours ago, Beregond said:

the club must make money, but money make from the club must go toward club investment player investment stadium explansion etc.

the money cannot go into the new owner personal pocket. and new owner attitude must be bringing  the club to new height, 

not how much the club will be worth is a few years or how much profit selling his star players can get him .

peter lim is a bad example. he interfere with the transfer cos he got business dealing with the owner of the other club which he sell and buy players with 

So basically put money in, build up the club but never to see any returns because all the money goes back into the club? Basically must be a big big big fan of the club to throw billions of dollars away just to satisfy other fans of the club.

Question: Why don't these other fans invest their money in the club? Peter lim case, he claims that valencia was in debt and couldn't afford to pay their players before he took it over. If the old model (of having the fans to support) wasn't working, then he put his money in, shouldn't he get to try out his model?

[Beregond]

7 minutes ago, ToyotaShuttle said:

So basically put money in, build up the club but never to see any returns because all the money goes back into the club? Basically must be a big big big fan of the club to throw billions of dollars away just to satisfy other fans of the club.

Question: Why don't these other fans invest their money in the club? Peter lim case, he claims that valencia was in debt and couldn't afford to pay their players before he took it over. If the old model (of having the fans to support) wasn't working, then he put his money in, shouldn't he get to try out his model?

well some club dun have a rich fans.

u see barc and real, they are run by org ( or u can call them fans ), not a single owner, thats why they are 2 of the most successful clubs till now.

the fans make up the clubs, any owner of any club that dun have the support their fans is going to fail.

u are right about 1 thing, why owner would want to invest in club if they cannot make money out  of it. 

its the passion etc etc, there are many owner who do not go in for the money, but in the long term, they realise after they succeeded its worth even more. 

see chelsea , man c and leeds now.

which is why when football club is being sold, its damn important its sold to the right kind of owner

[Spring]

12 minutes ago, ToyotaShuttle said:

You are right. I am not a football fan (nor a sports fan) but you don't need to fear as I cannot afford a team anyway. I just want to give the perspective from someone who isn't a fan. 

I think most businessman can understand that they need to invest money for the long haul (not lose money hor) before there can be a chance of seeing returns in the business so that isn't the issue. The real issue is that the fans expect you to keep ploughing money in without being able to see any returns at all. 

Frankly I don't see the problem with a club that is run like a business. The problem right now is that rich tycoons are throwing free money into certain clubs and driving up the costs (player salaries etc) for all the other clubs so they cannot compete. Without the likes of Roman, you could be seeing a much more competitive and fair circuit where you don't need a billionaire to back you before you can even think about existing.

In an extreme scenario where every club is backed by a billionaire, how many do you think can be profitable or breakeven?

A football club is the core of the community and in turn the community helps bind supporters and people in the city thru the club. The football club is thus like a family matriach which is loved and supported thru thick and thin. It is not the same as a business which is run solely for the purpose of profit making. So the mentality and culture to run a club is very different from that of a business.

No one is asking for handouts by owners and certainly not most sensible fans. But every decision shld be made for the purpose of success on the pitch which shld indirectly turn into $ profitability for clubs, at least in theory. All business have start out costs but for football clubs, these costs can be recurring so it may be a case of taking 2 steps back, 1 step forward and then 1 step back again n hopefully more steps forward in the long run. Most business can only tolerate losses in the early days but for football clubs, losses may come in periodically partly due to which competition clubs are participating in like the UCL, UEL etc which guarantees big participation money, TV money, sponsorship etc. No club is guaranteed participation in these competitions and that's why profits fluctuate and sometimes even results in losses.

This rising costs of buying of players and their ever rising salaries is due to simple economics ie Limited resources but high demand so prices jack up just like our COE which is still holding steady, in fact rising despite this Covid pandemic. 

Without the billionaire owners, the rich will still get richer cos the established clubs will still have deeper pockets to outbid the smaller clubs. In fact, in the case of EPL; there used to be 3 or so big clubs. Rich billionaires now made this group of big clubs to be 6 and a few more possibly on the fringes if buyers with the right mindset come onboard.

I do however admit that perhaps having more billionaire owners jacks up costs quicker cos u now have more clubs chasing after finite resources so this is a downside unfortunately but this is another topic altogether. 

  

[Blueray]

Nothing malicious about doctored photos, says Singapore-registered firm in Newcastle United bid

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/nothing-malicious-about-doctored-photos-says-firm

tsk tsk ...

[Jamesc]

What a bunch of fakes. 

Why Newcastle always get owners like this? 

[Jamesc]

Everyone know my BFF Trump is so close to me I don't need to make fake doctored photos.