Takeover Talks - Jacks On It | Vital Football

Takeover Talks - Jacks On It

SeasideEssexXile

Vital Football Legend
Wesley Sneijder involved in consortium from Singapore in talks with Blackpool owner Owen Oyston

A Singaporean consortium involving Wesley Sneijder have held talks to take over Blackpool.

Sportsmail understands two meetings took place between vSport - founded by Qiang Bai and former Real Madridmidfielder Sneijder - and Blackpool owner Owen Oyston last month.
Oyston is likely to sell the Seasiders after a devastating court defeat that left him ordered to pay ex-president Valeri Belokon £33million.
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Qiang Bai (left), Owen Oyston and Alexander Jarvis of Blackbridge, who helped facilitate investment into Barnsley and Peterborough United. The trio met at Oyston’s estate
The 84-year-old still owes £24m to Belokon, who has long since retained an interest in gaining control of the League One club.
Lawyers for both sides were back in court this week with no sign of the acrimony ending. Oyston is currently going through a messy divorce and was labelled 'nasty' and 'vindictive' in the High Court.

Bai is on the hunt to purchase a Football League club using his business, vSport, a cryptocurrency platform backed by blockchain technology.
He has discussed buying the entirety of Blackpool - both the football and property companies - and removing all Oyston involvement.
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vSport - part founded by Wesley Sneijder - have twice held talks with owner Owen Oyston
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Oyston is likely to sell Blackpool after being orderer
The meetings took place at Bloomfield Road and at Oyston's estate. Sources suggested that Sneijder would be open to becoming 'hands-on' with the running of a club after he retires.
The former Holland international signed for Al-Gharafa in Qatar earlier in the year.
Oyston released a statement on Blackpool's official website on April 6 claiming 'an agreement is close to being finalised for an investment group to have an active and serious financial involvement' but that never materialised. Sources close to the owner branded the statement 'bizarre'.
 
Is this good or bad? Could VB be involved in the background or is it just crap again. I'm feeling weary with it all
 
Probably the basis of that international consortium talk by O , but which hasn't been followed through. Even more unlikely when the divorce petition by VO may confuse which assets she has an interst in.
 
Bai Qiang - seems to be on a football mission

Sport 8

Sport 8 International Co., Ltd. develops and operates an online and offline sports and fitness platform for mobile users. Its social application connects football fans and users with coaching resources, pitches, and playmates. The company caters to professional clubs, professional leagues, national teams, and grassroots football. The company was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Beijing, China.

Founded by well-known Sino-America Internet entrepreneur Bai Qiang, current Dutch National Football Team’s No.10 Wesley Sneijder and China’s most famous sports commentator Huang Jianxiang, Sport 8 International is a comprehensive online to offline platform concentrating on football.

On October 26, the King and Queen of Netherlands visited Sport 8’s football training session at a prestigious Beijing elementary school. It was the Dutch royals’ first stop on a five-day state visit to China in 2015.
Sport 8 is now China’s biggest football company, bigger than the likes of the current Asian champions Guangzhou Evergrande. Our football coaches have been to over 100 Chinese cities to promote youth football and grassroots football development. The main objective of Sport 8 is to help young kids in China improve football skills; we also put heavy focus on constructively building and managing football pitches in a bid to making more facilities available for football lovers of all age.

The visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping, a well known football fan, on 23th October 2015 called for more exchange and cooperation between China and Britain on football. Bai Qiang, the CEO of Sports 8 International, accompanying with President Xi, signed with local football corporations and organizations for deep cooperation.
 
But why would someone so rich look at 'Little Old Blackpool'? Surely if they're serious they'd look at a top flight team or even a Championship team?
 
Think back to the origins of our strip, the legend of the 53 final and the Dutch love of flair and you can see why we are attractive. The big money doesn't come from the gates anymore so any club that can get to the Premiership has huge potential.
 
Ironically WS tetter and the BQ belief is giving back to football at grass roots level. What better advert than coming in towards the lower end of the leagues and taking football forward from there
 
I think that they've already decided against it according to my sources and this is old news....
 
Very true Pete. I think HE thinks, we're still in the Premier League. You can't sell a business for more than its worth based purely on 'potential'...
 
Response from the company named by TP:
A Singaporean-based group that has held talks with Owen Oyston has released a statement responding to reports they are interested in buying Blackpool Football Club.
Singaporean consortium involving Wesley Sneijder ‘in talks’ to buy Blackpool FC vSport, a company founded by Chinese-American entrepreneur Qiang Bai, held two meetings with Oyston last month. The Gazette understands talks are due to continue although they have been left frustrated with their dealings with Oyston, whose current valuation of the club is seen as too high. The ongoing legal disputes with the club’s former director Valeri Belokon are also complicating the issue. The group are keeping their options open and are said to be keen on purchasing a Championship club, although they are excited by Blackpool’s potential. If they were to be involved with Blackpool, they would want a clean slate with no Oyston involvement. They are also willing to work with Blackpool Supporters’ Trust. vSport said they wouldn’t be commenting on the rumours, but did confirm they would be “actively pursuing” investments in future. They went on to say they have some “big plans” which they will be revealing over the coming months. “We have taken note of rumours about vSport investing in an English soccer club,” executive director Qiang Bai said. “We hereby declare that we have no comment regarding the publication of this unofficial news. “Our team at vSport is actively pursuing commercial partnerships and investments globally through our trusted partners. “We have built a great team at vSport and have some big plans that we will be revealing over the coming months. “vSport Chain (Sports Value Chain) is the world’s first non-profit, open-source and blockchain empowered platform which is completely dedicated to the sports industry. “The scale of the opportunities is immense. “Technology has reshaped many industries. Now, with blockchain technology, it is time to re-shape the sports industry. “People say in the age of AI, sports will be a major activity for human beings — then sports industry needs to catch up with the development of the technology.” The meetings between Bai and Oyston apparently took place at Bloomfield Road and at Oyston’s estate. They were also joined by Alexander Jarvis of Blackbridge, a British financier, who has previously helped facilitate investment in Barnsley and Peterborough United. The Daily Mail published photos of Oyston with Bai and Jarvis, posing in front of his infamous woolly mammoth. vSport, a business registered in Singapore, is described as the first blockchain aimed at the sports industry. Blockchain, invented in 2008, is a technology launched to power bitcoin. Former Real Madrid star Wesley Sneijder has links to the group, although he’s had no involvement in these talks. The Gazette understands the consortium also held talks regarding a possible takeover back at the start of 2017. Jarvis met with Owen and Karl Oyston as well as former chief executive Alex Cowdy. Oyston, who still owes £24m to former director Valeri Belokon, claimed at the start of April that a deal was close to being finalised with an investment group. On April 26, the 84-year-old released a subsequent statement saying a deal would be completed within the “next three to five days”, but a deal never materialised.