Tinkler ready to face members
BY BRETT KEEBLE
02 Mar, 2011 04:00 AM
KNIGHTS members will get the chance to look Nathan Tinkler in the eye and ascertain his passion for the club before they vote on the mining magnates takeover proposal.
Tinkler will front Knights members at an information meeting to answer their questions, allay any fears and outline his plans to make Newcastles NRL club as good as they can be.
Once a date for the meeting is confirmed, the Tinkler Sports Group will organise a series of meetings and forums where details of the privatisation plan will be explained.
Presuming the board sign off on the deal tomorrow, and we are hopeful that they will, we will then be in a position to talk transparently and openly about the offer, detail the offer and explain it to the people, TSG executive chairman Ken Edwards said yesterday.
It will be a very transparent and open process of explaining to members the benefits of what we are offering.
There are a number of well-known Knights supporter groups, and we will be talking to those groups collectively. We are happy to have one-on-one conversations with members.
Nathan will communicate his views and values in a variety of ways through the media. He will also, at the appropriate time, and we have not determined that yet, address members and, as someone put it, look them in the eye and demonstrate his passion and his belief in this region and the Knights.
More than 600 Knights members attended an information meeting at Newcastle Panthers on Monday night, where Knights chairman Rob Tew, chief executive Steve Burraston and the clubs legal representative, Robert Faraday-Bensley, detailed events of the past month.
A number of queries about the proposed sale were raised from the floor.
TSG was not represented at the meeting, which was organised by the Knights board, but Edwards watched it online and we listened intently to the issues raised.
We were not too concerned by most of the issues raised. We think we can address them, and we are looking forward to having in-depth discussions with members about those issues, he said.
Edwards conceded the negotiations, which have broken down several times, had been difficult.
We havent always made the right decisions or pulled the right rein. That is behind us, he said.
We now have an outstanding proposal for members to consider. Any negative energy or thoughts that may have been in the past have gone away.
It is about making Newcastle and the Knights as good as they can be. It is about making this city an international city and developing our infrastructure and giving kids an opportunity to aspire to be the best they can be.
Tew told members on Monday night that it would make sense for Tinkler to address them before they were asked to vote on his proposal at the EGM.
As I said last night, Im happy to invite him to address our members, Tew said yesterday.
Tew expected directors to have the final documents from the TSG by last night. The Knights board was scheduled to meet at 9am today but that was pushed back to 3pm to give directors enough time to read the final document and be adequately prepared to discuss it.
Tew told members on Monday night that Tinklers proposal was a superior financial model and, pending final board approval, anticipated recommending members vote in favour of that offer.
We have recommended that the decision go to a members vote, and our recommendation is subject to confirmation in the final documentation, Tew said.
But if that is in accord with that which we have seen since Wednesday of last week, we dont believe there would be any alternative outcome from tomorrows meeting. We give it a recommendation one way or the other, its as simple as that, and that recommendation, if the documentation aligns with our understanding of what the deal is now, then it will be a positive recommendation.
If the board unanimously endorsed Tinklers bid, Tew said it would make sense for the Knights and TSG to collaborate in imploring members to vote in favour of it.
