There will be an update shared with fed clubs and on fed social media pages from this evenings meeting. Will post up when available.

As detailed previously we met with Mike Martin and Jimmy Fyffe tonight and whilst a more detailed members update will follow next week we are mindful the "the takeover" is a subject you are all interested in, therefore we will summarise this aspect of the meeting now.

Whilst no definite statement was made (with words being chosen carefully) it appears an American based bid is the preferred option for the current board based on them having sufficient cash backing to move the Club forward now and in the medium and long term. This party has no links to the owners of our city rivals, and are not looking to merge or ground share at any point in the future. These potential new owners have undertaken a due diligence on United and likewise United have undertaken a due diligence on them. Both exercises did not uncover any reason to halt progress with the discussions. The likely timescale for a successful conclusion was said to be measured in weeks not months. Other potential owners / investors are also on the scene should these talks stall. There is no chance of administration and that is why the talks can proceed at a pace which suits both parties.

We would have liked to have been able to be more positive and indeed suggested the Board should make a statement in relation to all the rumours currently circulating, which they said they would consider. Planning for this season continues as the current Board's preferred option is to remain as shareholders after the share sale and continue to help manage United in some way.

Last edited by bowers (13/12/2018 11:18 pm)

Pretty much sums it up.

Good of him to meet face to face.

Would it be churlish to suggest nothing new has been learned from tonight though?

Well if that is all that was learnt the meeting was a waste of time.

1, We don't want to sell to just anybody.

2, The Americans don't want to just jump in to buying United

Both statements are obvious and understandable, more importantly an easy cop-out for the board not wanting to give anything away.

Waste of an evening IMO.

Thanks for the update folks.   It would indeed be great to just even know who these people are regardless of where things are at.

Rocky Raccoon wrote:

Well if that is all that was learnt the meeting was a waste of time.

1, We don't want to sell to just anybody.

2, The Americans don't want to just jump in to buying United

Both statements are obvious and understandable, more importantly an easy cop-out for the board not wanting to give anything away.

Waste of an evening IMO.

The moretti was rather good tbf.
 

Rocky Raccoon wrote:

blackandtangerine wrote:

Rocky Raccoon wrote:

Well if that is all that was learnt the meeting was a waste of time.

1, We don't want to sell to just anybody.

2, The Americans don't want to just jump in to buying United

Both statements are obvious and understandable, more importantly an easy cop-out for the board not wanting to give anything away.

Waste of an evening IMO.

The moretti was rather good tbf.
 

 


Isn't it always?

Yes. A fantastic beer though not my favourite. Menabrea takes that title. 
 

The_Coo wrote:

Wierd. Just talking about Menabrea in the staff canteen as being the best beer at the minute. £2 in Tesco at the minute...

 
I stocked up on Wednesday. 🍺

bowers wrote:

As detailed previously we met with Mike Martin and Jimmy Fyffe tonight and whilst a more detailed members update will follow next week we are mindful the "the takeover" is a subject you are all interested in, therefore we will summarise this aspect of the meeting now.

Whilst no definite statement was made (with words being chosen carefully) it appears an American based bid is the preferred option for the current board based on them having sufficient cash backing to move the Club forward now and in the medium and long term. This party has no links to the owners of our city rivals, and are not looking to merge or ground share at any point in the future. These potential new owners have undertaken a due diligence on United and likewise United have undertaken a due diligence on them. Both exercises did not uncover any reason to halt progress with the discussions. The likely timescale for a successful conclusion was said to be measured in weeks not months. Other potential owners / investors are also on the scene should these talks stall. There is no chance of administration and that is why the talks can proceed at a pace which suits both parties.

We would have liked to have been able to be more positive and indeed suggested the Board should make a statement in relation to all the rumours currently circulating, which they said they would consider. Planning for this season continues as the current Board's preferred option is to remain as shareholders after the share sale and continue to help manage United in some way.

thanks Bowers, much appreciated.  If they're just at due dilligence, it's months, not weeks away.  When did they say due diligence phase were conducted?

blackandtangerine wrote:

RRDH wrote:

bowers wrote:

As detailed previously we met with Mike Martin and Jimmy Fyffe tonight and whilst a more detailed members update will follow next week we are mindful the "the takeover" is a subject you are all interested in, therefore we will summarise this aspect of the meeting now.

Whilst no definite statement was made (with words being chosen carefully) it appears an American based bid is the preferred option for the current board based on them having sufficient cash backing to move the Club forward now and in the medium and long term. This party has no links to the owners of our city rivals, and are not looking to merge or ground share at any point in the future. These potential new owners have undertaken a due diligence on United and likewise United have undertaken a due diligence on them. Both exercises did not uncover any reason to halt progress with the discussions. The likely timescale for a successful conclusion was said to be measured in weeks not months. Other potential owners / investors are also on the scene should these talks stall. There is no chance of administration and that is why the talks can proceed at a pace which suits both parties.

We would have liked to have been able to be more positive and indeed suggested the Board should make a statement in relation to all the rumours currently circulating, which they said they would consider. Planning for this season continues as the current Board's preferred option is to remain as shareholders after the share sale and continue to help manage United in some way.

thanks Bowers, much appreciated.  If they're just at due dilligence, it's months, not weeks away.  When did they say due diligence phase were conducted?

 

Due diligence has already taken place.

 
Yeah but did they say when that was completed?

MEMBERS UPDATE

We met with Mike Martin and Jimmy Fyffe on Thursday 13 December with the following being a summary of the meeting
Mike started by stating that as only he and Jimmy knew all the facts it was interesting but unknown what had recently created the volume of “noise” which had not emanated from them. They had, as all present knew, bought Stephen Thompson's shareholding with it being split 42.5% to Mike Martin and 42.5% being held by Jimmy Fyffe and two others. Talks were ongoing with interested parties who either wished to make an investment in Dundee United or wished to buy a majority shareholding. Mike pointed out that buying a Scottish football club was attractive as the investment required to potentially win a cup and / or take part in European competition was considerably less than if an individual or group wished to achieve the same success by purchasing an English club. Several parties had expressed an interest and four had had the talks terminated by the Board as they did not believe they were in it for the good of the club, asset striping was mentioned at this juncture but not by Mike. Due diligence had been carried out by more than one group, (some with sports interests but currently none in football) and nothing had come to light which had made any of these parties withdraw. The question as to why this process has taking so long was raised and Mike said the legal process was one reason but stressed that neither him nor Jimmy were being greedy in their part of the negotiations. Jimmy stated that all the current directors had made a significant investment in Dundee United but that none of them had “deep enough pockets” to take the club back to where they all wanted, as significant investment was required. When asked if there was a preferred bidder it became apparent that an American based bid is the preferred option. Mike stressed that this party has no links to the owners of our city rivals, and are not looking to merge or ground share at any point in the future. United have undertaken a due diligence on them. The likely timescale for a successful conclusion was said to be measured in weeks not months. Other potential owners / investors are also on the scene should these talks stall. There is no chance of administration and that is why the talks can proceed at a pace that suits both parties.

We suggested the Board should make a statement in relation to all the rumours currently circulating, which they said they would consider.
Planning for this season continues as the current Board's preferred option is to remain as shareholders after the share sale and continue to help manage United in some way. The “preferred bidder” is said to be impressed by the infrastructure the current Board has put in place and it is thought they would advance the current plans re youth development etc. rather than drastically alter these.
A question was asked if this takeover had been leaked in an attempt to sell half season tickets, a suggestion Mike totally refuted and during his answer it became known that we have sold about 100 of these books and will hopefully double that number in the days before Christmas. It was suggested that perhaps reducing the price would lead to greater sales, especially with the "new manager - feel good factor" still in place, however the Directors did not share this view. 

Recruitment was then discussed with Mike stating that he now regretted giving Csaba as long as he had but that perhaps he should have been appointed as a Director of Football as some of the changes he had made to the clubs infrastructure had received positive comments from Robbie Neilson. It was clarified that Luggy was still involved and had been involved in all the discussions prior to any player being signed albeit it is a panel decision and the decisions are by majority and don't have to be unanimous. Luggy is still scouting in England and some of his recommendations may well be signed in the summer when space will be available in the squad as some contracts terminate and others may move on.
January is likely to see a few players leave although HMRC have now closed the previous tax advantageous pay off which had been used previously. Some players who are not in the managers plans may have their contracts taken over by other clubs. Robbie Neilson has identified three positions he would wish to strengthen. Discussion then took place in relation to this and certain players and positions but it is felt unfair to disclose this detail, however your supporters club representative can discuss this with individual members should they wish.

Jimmy Fyffe confirmed that the “Sports Bar” project is advancing and it is hoped conversion works can commence soon. The financing of this project has also still to be finalised. This facility will be available to United supporters and supporters of clubs visiting Dens.

The meeting ended with thanks to Mike Martin and Jimmy Fyffe for their attendance and honest and informative update.”