UNCERTAINTY OVER SALE OF BLUES, POST & MAIL

27-09-2007

The sale of three of Birmingham's best loved institutions - the Blues and the Post and Mail newspapers - is mired in confusion today, albeit for very different reasons.

Birmingham City's sell-off to Carson Yeung appears to have moved no further forward since the Hong Kong businessman bought 29.9% of the shares last month for £15 million.

At the time, this was seen as a prelude to a full takeover from the current board but negotiations have stalled, and in today's Guardian, co-owner David Sullivan has given Yeung a December deadline.

Now Sullivan is suggesting that it may never happen at all.

"There is no deal done," he says.

"It's possible they will come up with a bid before Christmas and we will sell to them. It could be the end of December but, for me, D-day is the end of Christmas and by then, if nothing happens, we will not do any business with them because we will regard them as people full of false promises. And I will go in the market and buy more shares myself."
Sullivan adds: "We could still be at Birmingham for ever" (see link here)

If the Blues sale seems to be hampered by a reluctant buyer, the sale of Trinity Mirror's Midlands newspapers - including the Birmingham Post And Mail - appears to be hampered by a reluctant seller.

The word on the street was that a management buyout should already have been completed and announced by now, but there's still no finalised deal.

Trinity Mirror are also in the process of selling the Racing Post to a Dublin-based investment group, but have warned that the sale price is likely to fall below expectations.

Shareholders are unlikely to be pleased with that news, and with continuing instability in the financial markets, it's rumoured that the company is now having second thoughts about the sell off of its regional titles.

Insiders at the Post and Mail are remaining tight-lipped about developments and - officially at least - the sell-off plans are continuing full steam ahead.

With both papers having been starved of investment in the run-up to the sale, staff are hoping it will be completed sooner rather than later.

Who should run Blues - the current owners or Carson Yeung? And what's the future for the Birmingham Post and Mail? Leave a comment on the Message Board.