News Just In, Days Away From Being Sold To the Gordon Family

[Saints Forever]

In one sense I hope this report is true.

The club needs financial stability.

This has been a long drawn out process.

The NRL will want its current loan paid out in full in order to consent to Gordon entering the JV.

Gordon will want to pay off the loan by instalments.

His previous offer to the NRL of swapping advertising time for hard cash that had been borrowed by the JV was very poor and never going to fly. It may have been an attempt to draw favourable concessions from the NRL. It probably drew a hardline response from headquarters.

Walking away from discussions via a corporate entity and then coming back as a family doesn't make me feel warm and fuzzy. The Gordon's have one foot in the ocean and one foot out.

It's time they made a serious offer.

I would much prefer a financial backer/partner that treats the JV as a serious business rather than a hobby.

Our club has tremendous supporters who crave success and deserve a professional business plan and an administration capable of delivering on that plan.

Gotta wonder whether leading the comp has got the Gordon's back to the negotiating table

Either way, as an old real estate agent once advised me "sonny it is time to crap or get off the pot".

 

[Dragsters]

Whilst I feel more comfortable with this option as opposed to the Ibrahim/Qatar option if it gets us out if debt and secures the future if the club, until the details are out its difficult to know how happy to be...

 

[ouryears]

As a total outsider who knows little of the politics of the club compared to others on here like your good self Carlton i too am not really jumping for joy at the moment until all details are put on the table.Can someone explain to me why Win would pull out of the process & then the "owner" of Win then proceed to buy?. Is Andrew Gordon not already on the board & if so, been involved in all of the past failures of management?. I certainly hope we don't end up being another Manly who are poorly run by the Penns.

I think mate that Gordon being just part of the board stops him getting his vision for the club implemented as other board members veto his vision and plans.

Once he is the owner, his vision will be pushed through and become reality.

The other board members will not be able to veto him...plus the board will change anyway.

Looking at Penn, he is planets beind Gordon as a smart savvy businessman.

Gordon is a polished and smart person, Penn is a bit of a cowboy.

Penn had been fighting for years with his previous business partners in Manly until they split, it was bitter and public for years.

He fights with club stalwarts, with coaches and with players.

His business interests were a weight watchers type start up and health type businesses.

Gordon is totally different,
smarter, more savvy, more focused and creates a smart team around him.

Unlike Penn.

 

[ouryears]

Whilst I feel more comfortable with this option as opposed to the Ibrahim/Qatar option if it gets us out if debt and secures the future if the club, until the details are out its difficult to know how happy to be...

Ibrahim.
And Sheiks?
Wow, but maybe no thanks.

 

[ouryears]

Can someone explain to me how, if WIN didn’t have the money to continue with the naming rights sponsorship of Kogarah WIN Stadium they have the money to buy half the club?

And does this now give WIN, a Wollongong based company, more say on where and when games are played?

Hey BGB, Gordon is doing it with his own personal money, not via win group money.

Gordon has made the money from Win, but it's his personal money, not from the company's current bank balance.

 

[Carlton]

Yeah...Ibrahim....bloody hell.
No thankyou.
And Sheiks?

We would be selling oil to bikie gangs, not playing football.

Wrong Ibrahim

 

[TomRedVRiver]

I'll be stoked with this if it means the club can finally build this elaborate 'Centre of Excellence' Doust has been carrying on about.

I thought the whole reason why the club declined the money from the government for a Centre of Excellence was because they were in talks with third parties for something bigger and better. Here's hoping WIN was one of those parties who will be funding the project.

 

[Gareth67]

This has been going on for too damn long now - 2 years ? Then , they WIN finally said no after all the negotiations during that period . But yet Bruce Gordoh can still see value in the Joint Venture as a secure investment for his $ trillions of dollars . The man isn't stupid by a long way otherwise he would not be as successful as he is .

I also would not know the first thing about business at this level nor what it entails, but this ' pie ' has been in the oven for too long now . I would like to take it out and taste what it is like without being held to ransom by the NRL for that $ 6 mill. debt ( minus what's already been paid ) and be pleased in the knowledge that the Dragons are no longer be holding to anyone . Quite simply the Dragons will no longer be shackled by the arms and ankles - we will be able to walk freely and slowly build the Joint Venture to become one of the more successful clubs in the game .

 

[Carlton]

I think mate that Gordon being just part of the board stops him getting his vision for the club implemented as other board members veto his vision and plans.

Once he is the owner, his vision will be pushed through and become reality.

The other board members will not be able to veto him...plus the board will change anyway.

Looking at Penn, he is planets beind Gordon as a smart savvy businessman.

Gordon is a polished and smart person, Penn is a bit of a cowboy.

Penn had been fighting for years with his previous business partners in Manly until they split, it was bitter and public for years.

He fights with club stalwarts, with coaches and with players.

His business interests were a weight watchers type start up and health type businesses.

Gordon is totally different,
smarter, more savvy, more focused and creates a smart team around him.

Unlike Penn.

I think Gordon has gotten most of what he wants over the years and why would he get rid of his loyal board members once he owns things?

Have a look at the Illawarra clubs 2017 annual report, it has net assets of $2.5 million which includes a building valued at just under $11 million in 2015 that the board has decided should not change two years later during a time of sky rocketing property values. I would think that there are ways to free up the value in the balance sheet and use this instead of selling the ownership of the club.

It is all about the terms and conditions imposed in the sale document and by the NRL. The St George side of the joint venture has net assets of something like $40 million with significant possibly undervalued properties included. I am not saying that this is about getting hold of those assets but it could happen. Without knowing the terms its impossible to say this is a bad move or a good one.

There is enough history and illogic in this move though to be skeptical about how beneficial it will end up being for the St George side of things.

 

[Dragsters]

Wrong Ibrahim

https://wwos.nine.com.au/2017/11/30/07/18/nrl-news-qatar-sheik-interested-in-investing

 

[hazzbeen]

isn't this what we all wanted?

Not sure Alec , is this a good thing ? I don't know enough to comment.

 

[ouryears]

Wrong Ibrahim

Oh, sorry, recant it all.

 

[Dragons 09]

Ibrahim.
And Sheiks?
Wow, but maybe no thanks.

If it was Emirates Airlines, Etihad or even Qatar Airlines would you be against it? The Ibrahim in question is actually a Dragons fan so unlikely he would f**kc the club over. Same consortium wants in at Manly as well. They have plenty of money to throw around and a vision to introduce the game to the middle east. Not saying i'm on board with it all, but closed minds can often lead to closed businesses.

 

[Dragons 09]

Oh, sorry, recant it all.

All good, disregard my previous post.

 

[ouryears]

If it was Emirates Airlines, Etihad or even Qatar Airlines would you be against it? The Ibrahim in question is actually a Dragons fan so unlikely he would f**kc the club over. Same consortium wants in at Manly as well. They have plenty of money to throw around and a vision to introduce the game to the middle east. Not saying i'm on board with it all, but closed minds can often lead to closed businesses.

Fair enough mate, he is a great fan.

I guess I prefer to have people who have a local history, and who love the game, if it was Ibrahim alone that is different.

But I just can't go along with a partnership with shieks.

Same as I would be against Etihad airways, QATAR etc.

Same as I prefer not to have overseas ownership of our farms / food bowl.

Just my preference, everyone will have their own.

 

[Frank Facer]

Will this improve our ability to offer 3rd party deals to players?

 

[dragonssamy61]

As a total outsider who knows little of the politics of the club compared to others on here like your good self Carlton i too am not really jumping for joy at the moment until all details are put on the table.Can someone explain to me why Win would pull out of the process & then the "owner" of Win then proceed to buy?. Is Andrew Gordon not already on the board & if so, been involved in all of the past failures of management?. I certainly hope we don't end up being another Manly who are poorly run by the Penns.

They are doing it under the Gordon family trust.
That is how they got around it.
Win is registered as a totally different identity.
Andrew is also on the board of the trust.

 

[dragonssamy61]

Will this improve our ability to offer 3rd party deals to players?

No as all TP deals must not be done from companies that are separate and not a sponcer of the club.
For example St George Bank can not offer tpa to any of our nrl players.
While say nine can be used.

 

[RufusRex]

The only thing I really am interested in before it happens is knowing that if St George Dragons hold 50% and the Gordons 50% who has the casting vote?

 

[dragonssamy61]

The only thing I really am interested in before it happens is knowing that if St George Dragons hold 50% and the Gordons 50% who has the casting vote?

Spot on