Alan Nixon Breaks Silence on American Billionaire Bid

[Tamworthram]

10 minutes ago, Curtains said:

I suspect we are ducked 

If we are and it’s because the administrators have let Kirchner throw a strop and walk away, wouldn’t creditors have some recourse against the administrators?

I strongly suspect there is a lot more to recent developments than we have seen. It may not mean positive developments but I feel there must be a good reason why they appear to have allowed an offer, that we in ignorance think was sound, slip away.

[Mihangel]

14 minutes ago, Curtains said:

I’m sorry but we can’t put a positive slant on this now .

The administrators promised preferred bidder before Xmas 

They have failed to deliver 

I disagree, it's very clear that when CK discovered he wasn't going to be the preferred bidder he improved his offer. That will, obviously, have delayed the naming of that bidder as the administrators would be duty bound to hear that improved offer. It never feels like positive news when somebody drops out like this but if you read between the lines it's encouraging.

[I know nuffin]

5 hours ago, Oldben said:

I think the cold truth now the administrators have lost Kirchner, is that it comes down to gadsby and Appleby to save the club.

It's easy to recall how gadsby previously failed in his bid to buy the club, when he was the clubs chairman. He offered and was rejected because he didn't offer enough.

Gadsby and Appleby, it's rumoured, don't have the cash flow to buy Derby.

Good intentions are great but they don't always get a project delivered.

Even if they can pull together the capital to buy the club, given the size of the club's debts, I'm left wondering how much might be left over to rebuild the club.

The club definitely needs rebuilding.

It's like the person who buys a house cheaply at auction, but forgets to factor in the capital required to rebuild that house so they can happily live in it.

Saving the club isn't the only thing that's requires.

Kirchner in my opinion was the administrators preferred bidder, he remains the only one to show proof of funds to the administrators.

Kirchner in my opinion was all set to be revealed as the buyer before Christmas.

Now the administrators have zero choice but to wait for bidders to show proof of funds.

So far the rumoured bid from gadsby and Appleby is just a rumoured bid.

 

Let's hope Kirchner is a poker player and sent a message to the administrators of back me today or lose me for ever

[Curtains]

Just now, Tamworthram said:

If we are and it’s because the administrators have let Kirchner throw a strop and walk away, wouldn’t creditors have some recourse against the administrators?

I strongly suspect there is a lot more to recent developments than we have seen. It may not mean positive developments but I feel there must be a good reason why they appear to have allowed an offer, that we in ignorance think was sound, slip away.

Trouble is we as supporters are left knowing very little again .

Some may say entitled supporters don’t need to know anything about our great clubs direction.

I sincerely hope Sage is right when he says now the grown ups will enter the process.

Seems to me people were happy enough with CK until he had enough and pulled out 

[Curtains]

2 minutes ago, ShoreRam said:

I disagree, it's very clear that when CK discovered he wasn't going to be the preferred bidder he improved his offer. That will, obviously, have delayed the naming of that bidder as the administrators would be duty bound to hear that improved offer. It never feels like positive news when somebody drops out like this but if you read between the lines it's encouraging.

You don’t know that you really don’t and what’s more it’s not clear to the supporters what’s happening.

[LazloW]

I don’t think there is any chance that we’ll go into liquidation… but then I:

* Never thought we would have broken FFP rules;

* Never thought we’d go into Administration;

* Never thought we’d have 21 points taken off us;

* Never thought Mel was a wrong ‘un having defended him from pillar to post;

* Never thought we’d need to sell the ground;

* Always thought the powers that he knew why they were doing and believed what they were telling us…

So, perhaps I’m not the best judge!

[Gaspode]

1 minute ago, Curtains said:

If players like Knight ,Sibley etc are sold in January they haven’t enough funds 

That wasn’t what I asked - you’re talking as if you KNOW the details of their bids whereas actually you’re just throwing a wobbler because your own preferred bidder has backed out……if CK was so clearly offering a better deal then he’d have been named preferred bidder by know, but if the admins prefer one of the other bids ahead of CK, then it suggests that the others do have the required financial muscle to take over….

CK has been playing a game in the media where he’s tried to get the club by getting the fans and Rooney on his side - it appears the admins have followed due process and considered all of the bids and decided he doesn’t offer the best way forward - maybe they told him he needed to up his bid- whatever, it seems they’ve called his bluff and he’s folded.

If he was the only bidder I’d be expecting a fire sale, but while there are other parties still involved then there is still hope…..

[Tyler Durden]

I won't say it's no big loss as it might come back later to haunt us but wasn't impressed by CKs professionalism right from the start culminating in him publically slagging off Mel Morris which just smacks of sour grapes.

I know Mel's not on my Xmas card list and agree with a lot CK tweeted about him but that transcends the barrier of acceptability IMHO and rather than step over an unspoken line he's hurdled it with both feet with his comments.

Anyhows guess we have to faith in the administrators knowing what they're doing as we have no other choice!

 

[PistoldPete]

10 minutes ago, Eatonram said:

As stated by Kirchener it would appear that bids are are still increasing even as of yesterday. To me this means even his latest bid may not be as high as others in the process. As often stated the admins are required to secure the best deal for creditors which in simple terms will be the highest bid. Seems likely an auction is still going on and that means bidders will reach their maximum and then drop out. Perhaps clutching at straws I don’t know. 

Kirchner says he committed £60 million over two years. But that includes buying PPS. So really not surprising if his offer is rejected.   

[ThePrisoner]

24 minutes ago, Curtains said:

I’m sorry but we can’t put a positive slant on this now .

The administrators promised preferred bidder before Xmas 

They have failed to deliver 

They never promised. They hoped. Things change. 

[Curtains]

2 minutes ago, LazloW said:

I don’t think there is any chance that we’ll go into liquidation… but then I:

* Never thought we would have broken FFP rules;

* Never thought we’d go into Administration;

* Never thought we’d have 21 points taken off us;

* Never thought Mel was a wrong ‘un having defended him from pillar to post;

* Never thought we’d need to sell the ground;

* Always thought the powers that he knew why they were doing and believed what they were telling us…

So, perhaps I’m not the best judge!

Non of us are best judges because we a constantly fed different information all the time. 
 

[Red Ram]

1 hour ago, CornwallRam said:

I'm getting a little concerned now. My guess is that MSD want at least £20m for the stadium and that HMRC want 100%, albeit with an extended payment plan. Throw in paying the football creditors in full and 25% for the unsecured, then any bid must commit to over £80m. Add in the sharks from Wycombe and Smogsville and the club does not look likely to find a viable buyer in its current form.

Hopefully, I'm wrong and Appleby can find a structure which works. Personally, I don't think a January fire sale would devalue the club. There are plenty of cheap players available, so going onto the summer with a clean slate and could be a positive, especially if it had reduced the purchase price by setting the football debts.

What I think could happen is that Gadsby and a couple of wealthy fans set up a new company and buy the name and the trademarks. Derby County then starts next season as a debt free club in the Conference North, training at the Rugby club and playing at Meadow Lane. Hopefully we retain a significant percentage of the fan base and quickly secure a couple of promotions. Then we move to regain Pride Park and Moor Farm for much reduced prices from MSD.

Meanwhile the existing DCFC company is liquidated with only a few million to give to HMRC.

Thank you Mel Morris. 

Good post. Sad to say I see things much the same way. From MSD's point of view the stadium is just an asset and they're not going to just give it away for nothing so the fact that they now control the stadium appears to significantly increase the amount of total debt that needs to be repaid. Not sure I agree about the players though. If our playing staff have a combined nominal value of say £20 million (I'm plucking figures out of the air here) and we sell them for £10 million just to keep the club afloat in the interim, an prospective purchaser is now getting £10 million less of assets for the same price aren't they?

Edited December 24, 2021 by Red Ram

[Curtains]

1 minute ago, PistoldPete said:

Kirchner says he committed £60 million over two years. But that includes buying PPS. So really not surprising if his offer is rejected.   

60 over 2 years.

Lets see a better offer 

[Curtains]

2 minutes ago, ThePrisoner said:

They never promised. They hoped. Things change. 

I respect your view and I sincerely hope things are changing for the better.

 

[angieram]

I feel increasingly uncomfortable with this whole process of administration because it feels like  the usual players are still trying to manipulate events to their advantage. 

We all think Mel Morris has walked away, leaving us in this mess, but I think he is still involved behind the scenes and trying to get the outcome he wants. Whether that is an outcome that is best for Mel Morris or best for Derby County FC remains to be seen. They could be the same thing.

But, we have administrators appointed by him, two previous owners, the most recent CEO all very active and involved in this ongoing process.

Kirchner offered something different,  a fresh start without the decades of club politics. Whether he could have delivered on it, I don't know.

But I know I am weary of the same faces who have not been good for our club in the past, still hovering around the honeypot. I worry that Appleby has been talked about for over two years but has still failed to produce a bid that could have prevented administration in the first place or made an early exit a possibility; that Gadsby is a safe pair of hands who really doesn't have the financial clout or the ambition to rebuild the club; that the administrators are busy being administrators rather than actually working for a better solution.

Meanwhile we as fans have more uncertainty and no say in proceedings. We have to fight to change that in future or this won't be the last time we find ourselves in this situation. 

 

[Curtains]

6 minutes ago, Gaspode said:

That wasn’t what I asked - you’re talking as if you KNOW the details of their bids whereas actually you’re just throwing a wobbler because your own preferred bidder has backed out……if CK was so clearly offering a better deal then he’d have been named preferred bidder by know, but if the admins prefer one of the other bids ahead of CK, then it suggests that the others do have the required financial muscle to take over….

CK has been playing a game in the media where he’s tried to get the club by getting the fans and Rooney on his side - it appears the admins have followed due process and considered all of the bids and decided he doesn’t offer the best way forward - maybe they told him he needed to up his bid- whatever, it seems they’ve called his bluff and he’s folded.

If he was the only bidder I’d be expecting a fire sale, but while there are other parties still involved then there is still hope…..

Hope you are right .

 

[OoooMarkWright]

CK was definitely a credible bidder, the admin team were blowing smoke up his arse when he first entered the race, he knew his onions!

We need some answers about what is going to happen. It’s very worrying. We need the local journalists to step up. If BWAT can speak to Appleby, why can’t local journalists dig a little deeper to find more details? I find it amazing that all they have done is a pathetic interview with Morris that basically let him off the hook. Very poor from them. Graham Richards hounded Maxwell in the early 90s. Nowt is happening now. Odd. Granted it may not help too much, but at least we may have a little more info to go on.

As others have said, I presume the admin team are comfortable with the other 2 offers otherwise they wouldn’t let CK walk away. I just have a lack of trust for anyone in charge these days after Morris web of lies. 

[Gaspode]

Folk need to remember that the administrators have to follow a set process and are bound by rules that ensure they do their best for the creditors (not the fans!). If they breach those rules they’d be in deep do-do with the authorities and wouldn’t be able to practice again. They’re not allowed to drag the process out to line their own pockets (as some are suggesting), they’re not obliged (or allowed) to make all of the details of bids public, nor are they allowed to sell the club to the loudest bidder just because some supporters think he’s the messiah…. If we end up going bust, it’s Morris that’s to blame, not the admins….

Edited December 24, 2021 by Gaspode

[Tyler Durden]

I know I mentioned this analogy before and it's probably a crap one as couldn't think of another but if you saw a car being sold on Autotrader with full body kit, sat nav and tracker, huge alloys etc then when you phoned up the seller they said they're going to take all of the listed kit off the car but it's the same price wouldn't that then make you think twice about buying it?

Am not sure some of the comments about a firesale not having an effect on the desirability of purchasing the club are quite realistic tbh.

[BramcoteRam84]

If Quantuma were banking on Kirchner and he was the front runner, then the rhetoric will change in the coming days, there will be messaging about struggling to complete a deal before the end of season, we need to raise funds to keep the club going - January player sales, messaging about just what a complex mess has been left and we undersestimated the difficulty of the challenge. When those statements start coming out then it’s time to be really concerned. Currently the most vocal bidder has pulled out after increasing his bid?! Why would he do that unless he felt he has to (someone else has bid more) And Appleby says they are very much still bidding for the club.

I don’t think it’s time to panic yet. We need a buyer and a CVA and deal completing by the end of the season that’s the main requirement - this season is over and as others have said a fire sale lessens the value of the club. We will need some additional funding either from a preferred bidder or another source, if MSD see a route to getting more out of it in the long term wouldn’t rule out additional funding from then.