Chapter 625： Operational acquisition

Coming to London again, it is already late May. The Premier League has just ended the final round. The Gunners Arsenal won the Premier League with 38 undefeated records. Roman Abramo sat in second place. Chelsea, the golden dollar team built by Vitchie, and Manchester United, the Premier League hegemon, ranked third.

On the day Ronan arrived in London, the North London area was holding a grand championship parade, at this time Arsenal embarked on the highest peak since the establishment of the team.

"In fact, this team is also good."

In the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Will Smith watched the crowded and impenetrable championship parade on live TV, and seemed to be moved: "Should we buy it?"

Ronan shook his head slowly: "The price of the team that just won the double crown may not be cheaper than our goal. In addition, its finances are not healthy. Arsenal owes a lot of debt for building a new stadium."

Will Smith also didn't want to buy a bad team, think about the good performance of the target club, even the rare professional football team that can generate large profits every year, and said: "Forget it. We still continue to set goals."

Ronan saw Henry holding the championship trophy high in the live feature and said: "This will be a very interesting team."

Protecting the ball is like Henry?

No, this is the famous saying of the Great across the Pacific.

Arsenal in the future should be the "Four Devils", "Insulation Cup", "The Strongest Man is Already in the Formation" and so on.

There have been too many jokes about Arsenal at Arsenal.

There are even a lot of people who ridicule the coach Arsena Wenger.

However, Ronan always believed that some things were not the responsibility of the head coach. Wenger, as the coach of the romantic technical genre, must have some problems in himself, but he could do it every year when Arsenal became more and more stingy. It is not easy to achieve four.

Professional leagues, especially commercial football, are directly linked to performance and investment.

Roman Abramovich's approach is the most direct and effective for the club to achieve results quickly.

There was a knock on the door, Connie opened the door, and Korver, who had been sent by Netflix to negotiate with the Premier League, came in with a middle-aged Englishman.

This person is called Jefferson, who bought Chelsea for Roman Abramovich.

Korver gave an introduction to both sides and quickly got into the topic.

"Please introduce the situation." Ronan said directly.

Jefferson gave a light cough and said: "As of now, we have not had any contact with Manchester United. No one will know the existence of our potential acquirer for the time being."

Ronan nodded. In fact, someone knew that he had greeted William a few months ago.

"Manchester United is a listed club. We have already eaten 4.85% of Manchester United's outstanding shares in the secondary market. There is also a portion of outstanding shares that can be bought at any time." Jefferson continued: "According to British law, I Once Fang’s shareholding exceeds 5%, it must be made public, so that we will no longer be able to cover up the acquisition intention."

Ronan said: "From tomorrow, we will fully consume the outstanding shares and make contact with the shareholders of the Manchester United Club."

Jefferson, Korver and others have done a lot of preparation work, and immediately responded: "Okay, we are ready."

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

Jefferson did not answer, but looked at Korver, who said in detail: "Many major shareholders of Manchester United are not die-hard fans, but more investors. Therefore, their shares 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, shareholders and club management, shareholders and coach Ferguson. This year, Manchester United can only be ranked third. It is not only the result of team tactics and personnel adjustments. It is also a manifestation of the explosion of contradictions within the team."

Ronan has seen a lot of information from previous investigations 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 share composition is more complex and more commercial. .

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

"In this way, we can forcibly dissolve the Manchester United board of directors and initiate a compulsory acquisition of the remaining shares. By then, no matter how the other shareholders and fans of the Manchester United club resist, the overall situation is set!"

Will Smith suddenly interjected: "It's best to make a smooth acquisition."

Ronan agreed: "It's best not to cause the fans to rebound too much."

"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 shareholders and the club’s management. Last year, Manchester United coach Ferguson and Manier fell out because of the ownership of a thoroughbred racehorse. Both parties have gone through legal procedures. The relationship between the two was completely broken, and Manier wanted to sell Manchester United's shares from then on."

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

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

Will Smith recently did some preparatory work, saying: "Alex Ferguson has a huge influence on Manchester United, can we do something about him?"

Jefferson knew very well about Ferguson: "Ferguson doesn't care about who is the owner of the Manchester United club, provided that he can secure his current position. This old Scottish man is ambitious and wants to remove Arsenal from the altar like pulling Liverpool off the horse. Pulled down and led Manchester United to the second Champions League championship. Also, Ferguson has fallen out with Manier and McManus. If they can be kicked out of the club with a full face, he would definitely be happy to see them."

Ronan walked slowly back and forth, and said as he walked: "According to the plan, we officially launched the acquisition, contacted Ferguson, and sought Ferguson's support."

"Okay." Jefferson responded.

His team is already prepared, waiting for the formal launch of the acquisition.

But Jefferson also had concerns: "In 1999, News Corporation’s Rupert Murdoch and a prince from the Abu Dhabi consortium both wanted to acquire the Manchester United club. The competition between the two parties was extremely fierce. News Corporation was once very close to Manchester United. In the end, the official stopped 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, "Official factors can be eliminated, and I will fix official institutions."

Jefferson didn't say much, and continued the topic just now: "If we can pass 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: "Many United fans are very traditional and conservative. They are quite repulsive to the involvement of foreign forces in the club. They are very likely to set off massive protests."

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

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

Jefferson smiled bitterly: "It can intervene because Manchester United’s largest fan organization is also a shareholder. At present, Manchester United’s largest fan organization is called the "Shareholders’ League" with more than 15,000 members and they have close ties with many small shareholders. Well-known director Watkins is also a member of the'Shareholders' Alliance.'

Ronan felt troubled and asked, "How many shares can they gather at most?"

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

Although Will Smith is not particularly proficient in business, he understands the meaning of these things, frowning and saying: "They really unite, we may be out!" He asked, "Are you ready to deal with the plan?"

"Many members of the shareholder league 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. Someone in my team and Walter Kings is very familiar."

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

"YesAbu Dhabi Consortium!" Jefferson briefly introduced: "The Abu Dhabi Consortium has not given up since the last acquisition failed. It has also been in contact with Manchester United shareholders in the past few months, but Many people have doubts about their Arab status, and the resistance of fans to them far exceeds us."

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

Jefferson said: "It may also have taken part of the outstanding shares in the secondary market, but it will not exceed 5%." He reminded: "There is something to be aware of. After the Premier League is over, the Abu Dhabi consortium has more people. Prince Mansour, who is active and controls the consortium on behalf of the Abu Dhabi royal family, came to London three days ago. I guess the Abu Dhabi consortium is also very likely to want to launch a new round of offensive against Manchester United during this season's probation period. "

"This is England, your home court, keep an eye on the Arabs." Ronan thought of the old acquaintance and said: "If I have the opportunity, I will meet with Lord Mansour in person."

Back then, the two were also partners.

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