Chapter 625 Operational Acquisition

Came to London again, it was already late May, the last round of the Premier League had just ended, the Gunners Arsenal won the Premier League championship with 38 unbeaten records, and Roman Abramo sat in the second place Chelsea, the gold dollar team built by Vichy, and Manchester United, the Premier League hegemony, ranked third.

On the day Ronan arrived in London, a grand championship parade was being held in North London. At this time, Arsenal had reached the highest peak since the establishment of the team.

"Actually, this team is not bad."

Inside the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Will Smith looked at the crowded and packed championship parade live on TV, and seemed to be moved: "How about we buy it?"

Ronan shook his head slowly: "The price of the team that has just won the double crown may not be cheaper than our target. In addition, its finances are not healthy. Arsenal owes a large amount of debt because of the construction of the new stadium."

Will Smith also doesn't want to buy a team with bad debts. Thinking about the good performance of the target club, even the rare team in professional football that can make a lot of profits every year, he said: "Forget it, We continue to pursue our goals.”

Ronan saw Henry holding up the championship trophy in the close-up of the live broadcast, and said: "This will be a very interesting team."

Ball protection looks like Henry?

No, these are the famous words of the emperor across the Pacific Ocean.

In the future, Arsenal should be "Fighting Four Crazy Demons", "Thermal Mug", "The strongest man is already in the formation" and so on.

There are too many jokes about the arsenal Arsenal.

There are even many who ridicule the head coach Arsene Wenger.

However, Ronan always believed at that time that some things were not the responsibility of the head coach. Wenger, as the head coach of the romantic technical school, must have certain problems himself, but he was able to do it every year when Arsenal became more and more stingy. It is not easy to compete for four.

In professional leagues, especially commercial football, performance is directly linked to investment.

If you want the club to achieve results quickly, Roman Abramovich's approach is the most direct and effective.

There was a knock on the door, and Connie went to open the door, and Korver, who was sent by Netflix to negotiate with the Premier League, walked in with a middle-aged Briton.

This man's name is Jefferson,

Once worked for Roman Abramovich to buy Chelsea.

Korver made an introduction for both sides and quickly got to the point.

"Let me introduce the situation." Ronan said directly.

Jefferson coughed lightly, and said: "So far, we have not made any contact with the Manchester United team. For the time being, no one will know the existence of our potential acquirer."

Ronan nodded. Someone actually knew that he had greeted William a few months ago.

"Manchester United is a listed club. We have acquired 4.85% of Manchester United's tradable shares in the secondary market. There are also some tradable shares that can be acquired at any time." Jefferson continued: "According to British law, I Once Fang’s shareholding exceeds 5%, it must be disclosed to the public, so that we will no longer be able to conceal our intention to acquire.”

Ronan said: "Starting tomorrow, we will fully take in the tradable shares and make contact with the shareholders of Manchester United Club."

Jefferson, Korver and others had already done a lot of preparations, and immediately responded: "Okay, we are ready."

Ronan asked again: "What's the situation at Manchester United?"

Jefferson did not answer, but looked at Korver, who said in detail: "Many major shareholders of Manchester United are not hardcore fans, but more investors. Therefore, the shares in their hands are investment commodities. As long as the price is right, it is not a problem to impress them." .”

"In addition, there are many conflicts between Manchester United shareholders, between shareholders and club management, and between shareholders and head coach Ferguson. This year, Manchester United can only rank third. The poor record is not only the result of team tactics and personnel adjustments. It is also a manifestation of the explosion of conflicts within the team."

Ronan has read a lot of preliminary investigation information, and knows that compared to membership clubs like Barcelona and Real Madrid, and typical giant clubs like AC Milan and Inter Milan, Manchester United's shareholding structure is more complicated and more commercialized .

Korver also said: "At present, Manchester United has three major shareholders, namely the Irish horse racing tycoons Manier and McManus, and the well-known director of Manchester United, Watkins. The former two hold a total of 29%. 9.9% of the shares, the latter also holds more than 10% of the shares. As long as we can get rid of the three major shareholders, plus the possible gains from the secondary market and other small shareholders, our shareholding will exceed 5%. ten."

"In this way, we can forcibly dissolve the Manchester United board of directors and launch a compulsory acquisition of the remaining shares. At that time, no matter how other shareholders of Manchester United Club and fans resist, the overall situation is settled!"

Will Smith suddenly interjected: "It would be best to have a smooth acquisition."

Ronan agrees: "It's better not to cause too much backlash from the fans."

"Understood." Jefferson answered, "What I just said is the last resort."

Korver added: "The first plan is to take advantage of the conflict between Manchester United's shareholders and the club's management. Last year, Manchester United coach Ferguson and Magnier fell out over the ownership of a thoroughbred horse. The two parties have gone through legal procedures. The relationship between the two fell apart and Manier wanted to sell his Manchester United stake from then on."

Ronan asked: "Does Ferguson also have shares in Manchester United?"

"Yes." Korver was very sure: "But not too many, just one of many small shareholders."

Will Smith also made some preparations recently, saying: "Alex Ferguson has a huge influence on Manchester United, can we make some fuss about him?"

Jefferson knew Ferguson very well: "Ferguson doesn't care much about who is the owner of the Manchester United club. The premise is that he can secure his current position. This old Scottish man is ambitious and wants to remove Arsenal from the altar just like Liverpool. Pull it down and lead Manchester United to a second Champions League title. Also, Ferguson has fallen out with Manier and McManus, and he would be happy to see them kicked out of the club."

Ronan walked back and forth slowly, saying as he walked, "According to the plan, we will officially start the acquisition, contact Ferguson, and win Ferguson's support."

"Okay." Jefferson replied.

His team has long been ready, waiting for the acquisition to officially start.

But Jefferson also has concerns: "In 1999, Rupert Murdoch of News Corporation and a prince from the Abu Dhabi consortium both wanted to buy Manchester United. In the end, the official called to stop the transaction.”

He emphatically reminded: "Mr. Anderson, although the Russians successfully acquired the Chelsea club last year, we must also be prepared for possible official intervention."

Ronan nodded and said, "The official factor can be eliminated, and I will get rid of the official organization."

Jefferson didn't say any more, and continued the topic just now: "If it can be passed through the official side, there are only two major difficulties for us to acquire Manchester United."

Will Smith asked curiously: "Which two aspects?"

"The first is the fans of Manchester United!" Jefferson said: "There are many fans of Manchester United who are very traditional and conservative. They are quite repulsive to foreign forces intervening in the club. They are very likely to set off massive protests."

Ronan also thought of this aspect, so he brought in the prestigious and famous Will Smith and Tom Cruise to strengthen his own momentum.

Will Smith wondered: "Fans are indeed important, but fans can't directly intervene in the decisions of the entertainment department and shareholders, right?"

Jefferson smiled wryly: "It is possible to intervene, because Manchester United's largest fan group is also a shareholder. At present, Manchester United's largest fan organization is called the 'Shareholders' Union', which has more than 15,000 members, and they are closely connected with many small shareholders. Manchester United Well-known director Watkins is also part of the 'shareholder coalition'."

Ronan sensed the trouble and asked, "How many shares can they gather at most?"

Jefferson said directly: "It may reach forty percent, or even exceed fifty percent."

Although Will Smith is not particularly proficient in business, he also understands the meaning of these, frowning and said: "They really united, we may be out!" He asked: "Have you prepared a response plan?"

"Many members of the shareholder alliance are fans, but more of them are investors after all." Jefferson said: "As long as investors pursue commercial profits, we have the opportunity to disintegrate their alliance from within. Kings is very familiar."

Ronan nodded and asked, "The other big obstacle is the Abu Dhabi consortium?"

"Yes, the Abu Dhabi consortium!" Jefferson briefly introduced: "Since the last acquisition failed, the Abu Dhabi consortium has not given up. It has also been in contact with Manchester United shareholders in the past few months, but many people are interested in them. There are doubts about their identity, and the fans are far more resistant to them than us."

Ronan asked: "Do they have shares in their hands?"

Jefferson said: "It may also take part of the tradable shares in the secondary market, but it will not exceed 5%." He reminded: "There is one thing to be aware of. He is active, and Prince Mansour, who controls the consortium on behalf of the Abu Dhabi royal family, came to London three days ago. I guess that the Abu Dhabi consortium is also very likely to want to launch a new round of offensive against Manchester United during the probation period this season. "

"This is England, your home stadium, keep an eye on the Arabs." Ronan thought of the old acquaintance, and said, "If there is a chance, I will meet His Excellency Mansour in person."

Back then, the two were once partners.

After the meeting with Jefferson and Korver, Ronan went to the bank again, wanting to acquire the Manchester United club and solve the financial problem.