Clarification from Paul Barber on Dick Knight Selling his shares

[Mouse28]

The Shareholders Agreement probably says something along the lines of "offer to existing shareholders at market value". This offer to fans may merely be establishing what a fair market value is ie £1 per share (providing it can be demonstrated that his shareholding can be sold at that price)

 

[beorhthelm]

The fact still stands, nobody but us, would buy Dick's worthless shares for £1 each.

this is not a "fact", the value of a share is not necessarily directly related to profitablity of the company, and you cannot say that someone not a fan might be interested.

 

[Stat Brother]

Let's hope that is the case

And the shares aren't worthless until the point arises where nobody is willing to buy them - until then they are worth what people are willing to pay for them - I'll certainly buy some if they actually do become if available.

Exactly, as will the rest of us Brighton fans, the fact DK is counting on, to make his money.
It's the only way he can make them 'worth' £1.

 

[Buzzer]

They also have another potential benefit - if at some time in the future any of the 'major' shareholders wish to sell their shares then these would also have to be offered to any fan holding shares.

That's an extremely good point except that it's easy to change the articles. Just needs a vote of shareholders...

But now you've mentioned it I think Brighton fans should keep an eye on whether the articles change and a new threshold minimum holding is set to be entitled to buy existing shares.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Exactly, as will the rest of us Brighton fans, the fact DK is counting on, to make his money.
It's the only way he can make them 'worth' £1.

That's the price that Tony Bloom paid when he bought 400,000 of DK's shares as part of the deal that saw DK ousted as Chairman.

Read the book.

 

[Stat Brother]

That's the price that Tony Bloom paid when he bought 400,000 of DK's shares as part of the deal that saw DK ousted as Chairman.

Read the book.

That's very much a different deal to the one DK can offer anybody now.

I'm sure I'll get round to buying the book, as well as buying some shares, not to mention anything else Albion Dick would like to sell.
His greatness hasn't diminished in my eyes, just because this particular deal smells a little fishy.

 

[drew]

DK is doing the only thing he logically can do. He doesn't want to take the shares to his grave, so what little he has he is putting on the table.

Doesn't matter if you think it's good, bad, you either buy or you don't. The main thing is that he is offering them to the fans, if they don't want them he can sell them to TB, at least we have a choice. I suspect there would be more rage if he bypassed the fan share option so I don't know what all the fuss is about.

I don't know his personal situation but he can do with the shares what he plans to do with his wealth when he dies and bequeath them. I'm not sure how that would meet any shareholder agreement or even whether that would apply to inheritance!

The agreement was based on Bloom building the stadium which was what fans couldn't do.

That makes no sense whatsoever! How would DK selling some of his remaining shares to fans at that time affect any agreement by TB to loan the money for the stadium?

If DK just wanted to make a load of money, why didn't he sell out to Stephen Purdew or David Gold? I'm sure either of them would have paid him more than a few hundred fans, or even TB?

Probably because they were looking to take over the club, not have a token holding!

How on Earth can DK wanting to sell his shares to the fans, (whatever the purpose behind that offer), be seen as undermining the existing board?

I don't think any less of TB nor the other board members because DK wants to sell his shares - of course that may change if they try to block the sale but I don't think they will.

They probably can't block the sale, they probably just have first refusal under the Shareholder agreement, the full details of which we don't know!

HMRC can tax you if you buy a share under value. So, if you buy a £1 share at 50p, then it's still £1. You've earned 50p. HMRC would like some of your 50p. That makes things complicated.

Value is the market value and that is the price people are prepared to pay, not the nominal value that the shares were originally issued for. You are aware share prices can go up as well as down. I'm no expert but as far as I'm aware, when shares are first issued, you can't sell them for less than the nominal value (and in many cases a lot more than the nominal value) but once they are issued, they are subject to market forces.

 

[raymondbriggs]

S you are saying you would buy them just to sell on and make a profit if possible as in normal share dealing.

Better than your "consortium's" plan.

D.K had the best interest of the Albion at heart in 1997,he got involved with no motive of personal gain.

YOU wanting to buy the club from Archer so that YOU could MAKE MONEY out of a fantasy Shopping/office/restaurants/cinema/sports complex/nightclub extravaganza with a small football ground attached on Beeding cement works.

YOu actually though that the most heavily polluted site down some side road at the arse end of nowhere would make a great location,park and rides queues alone would make Falmer seem a dream.
So promising a site it has been empty for 20 odd years.

I suggest you butt out of any thread with regard to D.K. Your Bile shines through.

 

[Creaky]

They probably can't block the sale, they probably just have first refusal under the Shareholder agreement, the full details of which we don't know!

That's what I meant by "blocking" the sale - if one or more of the current shareholders offered to buy DK's shares then the chances are he would refuse to sell them - effectively blocking their sale to fans.

 

[ROSM]

That's what I meant by "blocking" the sale - if one or more of the current shareholders offered to buy DK's shares then the chances are he would refuse to sell them - effectively blocking their sale to fans.

At a meeting over 10 years ago, Knight said once the stadium was built he would want more fans to become shareholders. That statement was backed by all other directors at that time. They can't surely change their mind now?

 

[drew]

Better than your "consortium's" plan.

D.K had the best interest of the Albion at heart in 1997,he got involved with no motive of personal gain.

YOU wanting to buy the club from Archer so that YOU could MAKE MONEY out of a fantasy Shopping/office/restaurants/cinema/sports complex/nightclub extravaganza with a small football ground attached on Beeding cement works.

YOu actually though that the most heavily polluted site down some side road at the arse end of nowhere would make a great location,park and rides queues alone would make Falmer seem a dream.
So promising a site it has been empty for 20 odd years.

I suggest you butt out of any thread with regard to D.K. Your Bile shines through.

Does this post make any sense?

 

[drew]

That's what I meant by "blocking" the sale - if one or more of the current shareholders offered to buy DK's shares then the chances are he would refuse to sell them - effectively blocking their sale to fans.

I think the point is he can't refuse to sell them to the other shareholders otherwise what is the point of the shareholders agreement!!!

 

[symyjym]

The agreement was based on Bloom building the stadium which was what fans couldn't do.

Would TB having 88 or 89% of the club shares rather than 90% have stopped him building The Amex? DK would then have stuck by his original words.

We were desperate for a stadium, I've no complaints What's your problem again

 

[symyjym]

The agreement was based on Bloom building the stadium which was what fans couldn't do.

That makes no sense whatsoever! How would DK selling some of his remaining shares to fans at that time affect any agreement by TB to loan the money for the stadium?

What are you on about, Bloom got his 90% share for spending £100m on a stadium, and we get an academy thrown in as well, what's the problem?

 

[Creaky]

I think the point is he can't refuse to sell them to the other shareholders otherwise what is the point of the shareholders agreement!!!

Of course he can - he wants to offer the shares to fans at £1 each but has to first offer them to other shareholders - if any of them offer to buy them then he withdraws them from sale - what has effectively happened in that case is that the other shareholders have blocked the sale to fans.

 

[Super Steve Earle]

Some of the negativity on this board never ceases to amaze me even though it is often the same left wing sorts. I met and listened to DK tonight in Bugs Hill and frankly I do not believe this true fan has ever done anything that isn't with the club and fans at heart. Sure, he is including an opportunity in his book to buy a few shares if you can justify that you are a true fan. But so what? It's an original idea and a wonderful gesture to make it easy to have a share in the club and a say at meetings for minimal cost and he should be applauded not derided. After all it's only £1. He hardly needs the money and the book and his anecdotes are fascinating. He saved our club whether some 'fans' like it or not, so lets not question his motives re the shares and just enjoy the read.

 

[BensGrandad]

Better than your "consortium's" plan.

D.K had the best interest of the Albion at heart in 1997,he got involved with no motive of personal gain.

YOU wanting to buy the club from Archer so that YOU could MAKE MONEY out of a fantasy Shopping/office/restaurants/cinema/sports complex/nightclub extravaganza with a small football ground attached on Beeding cement works.

YOu actually though that the most heavily polluted site down some side road at the arse end of nowhere would make a great location,park and rides queues alone would make Falmer seem a dream.
So promising a site it has been empty for 20 odd years.

I suggest you butt out of any thread with regard to D.K. Your Bile shines through.

It is not me that has an agenda on this. Yes I was going to make money as a form of broker but the actual consortium were the brains behind it and as you put it the 'arse end of nowhere' was 1 signature away from coming to reality at the time, just ask Barry Lloyd.

I would suggest that you are the one who should drop out of any of these discussions as you have demonstrated that you do not have any idea of what was actually happening at the time. We have all now moved on and are in a great stadium can you not just accept that and the fact that people have different ideas of how to achieve an aim.

My only point on this selling of shares is that if DK wanted so desperately to have fans on the board why did he not sell a few less to TB when he sold out to him and give or sell them to fans. To answer another possible question is Yes I would buy some just to have a bit of the club that I have supported, not just followed, for the past 65+ years.

 

[Triggaaar]

Sure, he is including an opportunity in his book to buy a few shares if you can justify that you are a true fan. But so what? It's an original idea and a wonderful gesture to make it easy to have a share in the club and a say at meetings for minimal cost and he should be applauded not derided. After all it's only £1.

Have you read this thread? It's likely that the current shareholders would want to buy any shares that he's selling, meaning that we can't buy them, so it's not necessarily a wonderful gesture.

 

[John Byrnes Mullet]

Barber Out..............

 

[Westdene Seagull]

Have you read this thread? It's likely that the current shareholders would want to buy any shares that he's selling, meaning that we can't buy them, so it's not necessarily a wonderful gesture.

Why would any of the other shareholders want to buy 1.5% of shares when TB already owns 90% so the extra 1.5% would bring them nothing for their million quid ? TB clearly won't be buying them either.