Lee and Conway trying to buy their third club ...

[EastStandRed]

A group around the American investment group Pacific Media Group has exclusive discussions with football club KV Oostende about an acquisition. The intention is to introduce thorough data analysis in Belgian football.
There is a new hijacker on the coast to buy the ailing first-class KV Oostende. The coastal club exclusively negotiates a takeover with the American Paul Conway, along with the Chinese-American billionaire Chien Lee, who is also active in the travel sector. The group already owns Swiss first-class FC Thun and English second-class Barnsley.
The exclusive conversations are remarkable. Because last week it became known that the wealthy American investor David Blitzer, co-owner of Crystal Palace in the English Premier League, showed an interest in the coastal club. Blitzer offered around 5 million euros for 100 percent of the club. Current owner Frank Dierckens did not like that, leaving the track. He would recuperate his money - Dierckens increased the club's capital by 3 million euros - but his role would have been played out. Chien Lee would not want the full pot, so Dierckens can keep an important share in the club.

Dierckens has always said that he considers local anchoring important. It is unclear whether, like Blitzer, the new candidate would be willing to settle a debt of 6 million euros to former owner Marc Coucke, with whom KVO was already begging. Blitzer also offered to buy the stand for 20 million from Coucke. The rental price that KVO has to pay for the grandstand is a millstone around the club's neck.

Without a transferee, the club is heading for bankruptcy. There is not much time left. Ostend must submit a license file to the Football Association by 15 February. Without a license it cannot come out in the highest class of our football. That is why the acquisition must be completed quickly.
INEOS

Paul Conway and Chien Lee are no strangers in the football world. Last year they sold 80 percent of the French first-class OGC Nice for an unconfirmed amount of 100 million euros to the British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe. That is the man behind chemical giant INEOS, an important player in the port of Antwerp. Ratcliffe also owns the Swiss club Lausanne and last year also took over the largest cycling team in the world, Sky.
At Nice, Paul Conway and Chien Lee had a series of investors behind them. One of them was the Chinese Alex Zheng, together with Chien Lee founder of the Plateno Hotel Group. That presents itself on its website as the largest hotel group in China, with 6,300 hotels in 470 Chinese cities. Chien Lee has been living in the US for 30 years and has American nationality, but most of his business empire is in the Far East.

KVO may become the 13th of 24 professional clubs in foreign hands. The intention of Conway and Lee is to introduce a system of data analysis in Belgian football. They also did that at other clubs. At Barnsley, Billy Beane is a remarkable co-investor.
Beane is the icon of sports data analysis, thanks to the Hollywood film "Moneyball". As technical director of the Oakland A’s baseball team, Beane developed a computer model to discover undervalued players. He was initially laughed at, but the "team of pruters" started to perform better year after year, after which everyone in baseball started copying the Beane method.

[DOOALI]

Take profits out of 1 club and put it in other clubs it's a good merry go round or what you could call laundering

[EthelRed]

Theyre trying to prove and market this Billy Beane software to the sporting world. Prove it works across different formats in different countries.

Kerrching,

[animallittle3]

Really wish I knew where all this is leading .

[SBRed48]

It explains why Dog was sniffing abart Oakwell this week.

Nowt to do with football progress plans at Barnsley. Mooar abart plotting strategy with Hoss abart adding another club to their portfolio.

Money, money, money,
Must be funny,
In the rich man's world.

[SBRed48]

Theyre trying to prove and market this Billy Beane software to the sporting world. Prove it works across different formats in different countries.

Kerrching,

It's worked well at Barnsley Eths. Led to the most successful transfer window in our history last August. Tha can't ask fo mooar than that as an advert for the software sales.

[EthelRed]

I was delighted with it, unearthed some proper gems. Without it SB the trap door to div 3 would already be open.
Its inspiring cant wait to shell out for next years tickets.
Doesn't it show that their focus is fully on BFC? or not?

[EastStandRed]

Wealthy American investor David Blitzer, co-owner of the English club Crystal Palace is interested in the Ostend club. He is offering around 5 million euros to acquire 100% of the club.

The new candidates would not want to buy the entire entity, allowing President Frank Dierckens, anxious to keep a local anchor, to keep a significant share in the club.

It was unclear whether the US fund was willing to pay off the debt of 6 million euros from former owner Marc Coucke.

Without a buyer, the KVO runs straight to bankruptcy. By February 15, the club must submit its license application to the football federation.

Mr Lee is still in negotiations

[EastStandRed]

KV Oostende and Pacific Media Group agree on takeover, Dierckens remains chairman
KV Oostende and Pacific Media Group (PMG) have reached an agreement on the acquisition of the club. PMG is an American investment company that buys up football clubs and works intensively with data. Frank Dierckens will remain on board as chairman.

ODBS 15 February 2020 10:46
A month ago there was already a principle agreement between KVO and PMG to work together. The deal was then 95 percent complete, but the necessary commas and dots still had to be placed. That has meanwhile happened, let the coastal team know, and so KVO can submit a complete file to the license committee on Monday.

"A takeover involves a lot of administrative matters and that is why we were only able to communicate once everything was 100 percent complete", explains chairman Frank Dierckens. “That is the case and now we can fully focus on the future. The new structure will soon be drawn and communicated. It is certain that I will remain chairman. I am happy to be able to ensure local anchoring in this way, and in that position I will focus primarily on extra-sporting, operational policy. In the meantime, I am already busy with that. We look internally where we can make further adjustments and the general cost structure is intended to decrease considerably. KVO deserves a healthy tailor-made policy without megalomaniac decisions. "

"In the meantime, we have already started a substantial curtailment of that cost structure," adds Financial Advisor Thorsten Theys. “The figures that were published in the financial statements relate to the period up to and including 30 June 2019. These figures are obviously not good and have only made the need for restructuring more clear. We now know where we are and we know where we want to go. The operational break-even point forms the basis for every football club in contemporary times. The objective is to reach this break-even point on 30 June 2021. We are already seeing on 31 December 2019, based on audited figures, that we are on the right track. We are therefore confident that our license file, which will be submitted on Monday, will receive the green light. The people at PMG have followed our efforts very closely and are now giving us confidence in the long term. The future for KVO again looks bright and, moreover, local anchoring was assured. "

Pacific Media Group is an investment company owned by the American Paul Conway and the Chinese-American billionaire Chien Lee. They are active in all kinds of sectors. In recent years they have focused more and more on sport.

Pacific Media Group bought the French club Nice for an injection and sold on for around 100 million euros. European football tasted of more for the Americans. In England they have second class Barnsley. American baseball hero Billy Beane also invested in this. Beane is the man behind the famed "moneyball" - as a sports manager of the Oakland A’s, he used software and data to attract cheap players who were much better than others thought. The Pacific Media Group would also like to install that data-oriented approach at KVO.

[SBRed48]

Summat's not reyt.

OGC Nice sold, now own Barnsley FC, FC Thun, KV Oostende, in fo Troyes and maybe others.

Tha'd think they would focus on our heroic relegation fight.

Go Barnsley !