New Director Appointed

Director Robert Daniel Svanstrom, who represented 10% owner Straumur, has been replaced by American J Albert Smith (aka 'Tripp' Smith). This is leading to speculation that the Icelandics have sold out their stake.

Full story: - http://kumb.com/story.php?id=131682

Good news or bad?

Comments

  • The Blackstone group ;hmm

    Sounds like the next Jason Bourne movie to me
  • The FT article suggests he's bought the shares himself.
  • edited October 2017
    Some really interesting posts on KUMB re Smiths purchase of the Straumur stake and what It might mean. Some good Discussion points in this first post, that I cant describe better so I'll quote direct -

    "J Albert Smith, otherwise known as Tripp Smith, was a founder of GSO Capital Partners, one of the world's largest buyout firms using non-investment grade debts. He and his partners subsequently sold GSO to Blackstone Group, one of the biggest investment groups in the world with over USD350Billion under management, for USD1billion. GSO is currently the most important division of the Blackstone Group where Smith is a senior managing director.

    When leveraged buyout guys buy 10% of your football club, something is afoot. This is especially so when the guy specialises in non-investment grade leverage buyouts (i.e. super high risk assets, like junk bonds of old), of which a football club surely is.

    Questions:

    1. The 10% Straumer shares are supposedly bought as Smith's personal investment. Supposedly is the key word. Why would a high finance Wall Street guy like him buy a minority stake in a small club run by a couple of chancers? Seems more likely it is a vanguard position, direct or indirectly part of an eventual buyout.

    2. At the same time, Amanda Staveley, up to her eyeballs with Middle Eastern money, is on the hunt for a football club. Is this a co-incidence? Was she in Newcastle not to watch Newcastle but West Ham? Is Smith and whoever Staveley is fronting acting in concert?

    3. Could it be that all these are related to the u-turns vis player purchases by the owners at the end of the last window? Is a deal close?

    4. Why not announce the Smith purchase? Whatever it is, it isn't because Smith is publicity shy. Leverage buyout guys aren't exactly know for being shy. My guess is that Smith is only a front for a much bigger wolf.

    Nothing but speculation, of course. But I'd wager my granny something is afoot.

    Interesting times."

    To which another poster has replied re a possible block on the sale...

    " Lots of ways to get past a sale moratorium. For instance, a convertible loan issued to the club (for player purchase, stadium conversion, training ground improvements etc, or even to repay the clubs' debts at a premium) that allows the creditor to convert the loan into equity after 24 months at a predetermined price and conversion ratio, thus making the creditor a de facto majority owner post convertion. If this were to happen, the present owners would relinquish the chair in favour of another board member (say Smith) and remain majority owners in name only. Whoever the creditor is would in fact run the show even before the actual convertion of the loan into equity.

    There are more variations of this. All tools of the securitised buyout trade.

    Smith's recent entry into the board makes a lot of sense in a scenario like this. Far more than the apparent reason of one of the top buyout financiers in the world investing into a minority stake of a football club run by a couple of porn barons. I simply do not buy that."

    Apparently there is only 2 years until the moratorium comes off - I didnt know that ???
    There is also a lot of talk about Amanda Stavely, looking to buy into a PL club, and going to Newcastle at the weekend. She apparently had a meeting with Rafa afterwards, as she knew him from Liverpool days, (she is a Liverpool supporter). Some are saying that the two things could be linked, and that she was talking to Rafa about Newcastle, and/or West Ham ??

    I love a conspiracy theory me - especially in the international break


    ;hmm ;pray
  • Although no announcement the website shows this (updated 02/10/17)

    Ownership

    David Sullivan 51.1%
    David Gold 35.1%
    WHU LLC* 10%
    Other investors 3.8%

    *The ultimate owner of WHU LLC is J Albert Smith.


    Read more at http://www.whufc.com/club/corporate-information/ownership#z4QHi74iiE33pqbU.99

    So it's almost been slipped in on the quiet. ;hmm
  • My theory is that he's friends with David Cameron and wanted to by Aston Villa but forgot which team Aston Villa was that day and so bought shares in West Ham.


  • Lots of ways to get past a sale moratorium. For instance, a convertible loan issued to the club (for player purchase, stadium conversion, training ground improvements etc, or even to repay the clubs' debts at a premium) that allows the creditor to convert the loan into equity after 24 months at a predetermined price and conversion ratio, thus making the creditor a de facto majority owner post convertion. If this were to happen, the present owners would relinquish the chair in favour of another board member (say Smith) and remain majority owners in name only. Whoever the creditor is would in fact run the show even before the actual convertion of the loan into equity.

    Well, obvs...
  • It might be only me but something is going on. Why would Gold and Sullivan agree to the "Big Six" having a bigger share of the overseas money? Surely that is going to hit them in the pocket. ;hmm
  • edited October 2017
    It reallocates money on a sliding scale, rather than it being split equally between all PL clubs. So while top 6 will get lots more, middle-ranking clubs will also get a bigger slice of the pie.

    Which is presumably what Leicester + Everton are also in favour. They must be ambitious of filling those higher places. Betting on their own success.

    (Although the proposal is dead in the water now)
  • I read somewhere it was the big 6 plus WHU and EFC that backed the change?
  • But what does it mean? To the fan !
    That's ment for opening statement by herb
  • edited October 2017
    Izzy, I read coverage on BBC, Guardian, Telegraph, and between them they named those, plus Leicester. (Can't remember which one said which.) ;ok


    Edit, well according to this https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/oct/04/premier-league-future-unclear-clubs-resolution-tv-rights there was no vote taken at the meeting. And a decision was 'adjourned' until a later date. So not dead in the water, yet.
  • Rumour that Gary Lewin has been told the club may be sold any day now and that it will all happen very quickly ;hmm trying to find a link at min
  • Why the hell would the Head Physio be told the club would be sold any day ;lol
  • Why the hell would the Head Physio be told the club would be sold any day ;lol

    He has been told so that he can make it look like we are not actually filming for the walking dead and we do have a fully fit team worth investing huge sums of money in to :)
  • The rumour said all the management were told including Gary Lewin not just him its most like someone taking 2+2 making 5 like below

    http://www.thewesthamway.co.uk/2017/10/01/changes-afoot/
  • edited October 2017
    bb your post earlier says it is only 2 years until the moratorium ends. (I assume you are referring to the clause that takes a % of any sale profit for the public purse...)

    Any support for this statement - since everything I have read, including he link plf has just posted, says it was a 10-year thing.

    Heathrowhammer - care to explain the ;lol ? ;hmm
  • If nothing else the fact that such big players are choosing to invest in us is a sign that we are an attractive option.

    Generally American investment doesn't seem to lead to the sort of investment that the Oil barons do.

    Lets hope they studied our history because their ROI is not going to be huge.
  • edited October 2017
    despite a clause requiring shareholders to repay a percentage to the public purse. That clause takes effect if the club is sold in a deal valuing it at £125m or more during the next 10 years.
    Article states that debt can be offset before that threshold is met. Don't know if that includes shareholder debt, which is what we have now.

    Suggestion is the club would be valued north of £200m.

    http://www.cityam.com/246554/revealed-west-ham-owners-free-cash-olympic-stadium-deal
  • Accidentally pressed button.
    Sorry Mrs Grey
  • edited October 2017
    No worries ;ok
  • edited October 2017
    Mrs Grey
    I don't really understand the machinations myself.
    It looks like a convertible loan to take effective control of the club well before the moratorium end date.Then it becomes an issue of control of the clubs affairs rather than de facto ownership on paper. The club would be run by the minority shareholder but not be actually 'sold'until later.
    I think that's what I mean.....
  • Perhaps this new director is only a temp from a local agency, they may have been drafted in to continue Karens important work whilst she flits around the country following Britains finest on The Apprentice. The money may just be a deposit in case this new chap breaks anything (and I don`t mean promises and commitments, thats par for the course, I mean glasses, plates, cups etc.) and he may be entitled to a full refund when Karen returns.
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