:saints: 💰 Time for a New Takeover Thread?

Southampton Football Club
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Oh wait it’s R Ankersen not R Agnorok.
Must clean my glasses

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:man_facepalming::joy:

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So what have the Serbians actually said then? What are there ambitions? Why haven’t they laid all this out in a 20,000-page five-year plan? What examples are there of Serbian media magnates bringing success to a Premier League club?

He can’t be here here to ask these searing and necessary questions, so I’ve had to channel all the inner Bazza I could muster (eeewww) to do it on his behalf.

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No Gavrilo Princip. Alls.

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You forget to twist the whole thing into a diatribe about the Balkans, muslims and Russian warm-water ports.

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@Fowllyd also failed to post this in a match thread.

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For anyone who hasn’t seen it, the latest Sky write-up on the takeover.

I can’t help being a little bit excited about this. The Sport Republic operating model fits our principles closely - a return to the Black Box but hopefully the very latest model on steroids.

There won’t be wild spending or marquee signings, but, I hope, acquisitions like Tino and maybe Broja: unidentified talent to be developed, or identified talent blocked from progress in their current club.

And the personnel seem well qualified: success at Brentford and Midtjylland on the football front and in building a business, with enough cash for investment in a sensible way. Add in Semmens who I think has done a fantastic job under the constraints of Gao and legacy signings, and of course Ralph, and dare I dream the future is bright?

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Pretty much my initial thoughts tbh.

Then I woke up and remembered we are Southampton, we are not allowed nice things.

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Good summary, thanks.

I too am going to stick my neck out and say that this could actually lead to some good times ahead.

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Anyone subscribe to The Athletic?

Wonder what the detail is on the MSD Loan. We were paying almost 10% interest.
Is it now turned into equity or still need servicing?

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In fairness, there’s only so much inner Bazza that anyone can muster. I was going to make an attempt at the convoluted and incomprehensible sentence structure, but thought better of it.

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Thanks. Interesting listening.

Particularly the idea that measures other than points are actually better indicators of underlying performance. Such as goal difference and chances created v chances conceded.

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Just as well really - its not like we are drowning in the latter

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I think that says a lot about what we can likely expect in terms of an approach and finding a competitive edge.

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Lol - Bazza is going to be raging - he hated what he called our moneyball approach - we are about to get moneyball cubed

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Martin Semmens lifted himself off one chair, left his crowded desk, sat down in another, more comfortable seat and let out what can only be described as a sigh of relief.

Selling Southampton Football Club has proved to be a taxing, drawn-out task that has lasted nearly two years. And the club’s chief executive, while buoyant and with a smile on his face, looked relieved the process is over.

Distracted by a manic day, where he jokes his phone has been ringing off the hook, the 49-year-old had forgotten to eat the unopened fruit pot on his desk.

Southampton announced on Tuesday that Sport Republic — a business co-owned by Henrik Kraft and Rasmus Ankersen, whose lead investor is Serbian-born Dragan Solak — bought Gao Jisheng’s 80 per cent stake in the club.

It heralds a new era at St Mary’s, with the Premier League side becoming Sport Republic’s first acquisition in a multi-club model.

The Athletic sat down with Semmens and covered a host of topics, including:

  • Why Sport Republic bought the club
  • How it funded the takeover
  • What will happen to the MSD Holdings loan
  • Whether the way Southampton recruit players will change
  • What its multi-club model means for Southampton
  • Manager Ralph Hasenhuttl’s future
  • How the board will now be structured

“We’ve been at it (trying to sell the club) for about two years,” Semmens tells The Athletic . “This one came along recently, and when you see their plans, you realise that it fits with who we are.

“There are three things we were looking for: good people, good investment and a plan that fits with our strategy.

“The reason this one was successful was that we believe in their plan, and they believe in our plan. In the short term, it gives us security and clarity. In the long term, it gives us something to work towards that will make a real difference.”

While the price Sport Republic paid to acquire the Premier League side is unlikely to enter the public domain, The Athletic previously reported how Gao needed to sell due to his personal financial situation.

It’s believed the Chinese businessman has lost money on the initial investment he made in the summer of 2017.

The club’s enterprise value — what they cost to buy, plus the debt — is thought to be around £235 million to 250 million. They have lost money due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but a conscious decision was made behind the scenes to continue investing in the squad.

“One of the first things they (Sport Republic) said to us was that they know we don’t need fixing,” adds Semmens. “They know how we operate here, and that was part of their decision to acquire Mr Gao’s stake.

“The chance to work with a club that was already working in a good way was important to accelerate the plans for the group.”

Southampton believed that continued investment in the playing staff would keep them competitive in the Premier League and attract potential buyers at the same time.

But should supporters be concerned about how this acquisition was financed?

Burnley recently went from having a sizable lump of cash in the bank to being in debt after US company ALK leveraged its buyout of Southampton’s fellow Premier League club just over a year ago.

Asked whether Sport Republic has borrowed money against the club to purchase Gao’s stake, Semmens responded emphatically: “We wouldn’t have done a deal that way. Could we have done? Absolutely. But the risk is too high.

“We would only do the deal with equity investment. They have done it with their own money, and that is so important to the club’s future.”

While he wouldn’t reveal the figure, Semmens explained the club have received an injection of cash in light of the takeover.

This doesn’t mean they will be competing to sign Kylian Mbappe come the summer, but it’s believed a commitment has been made to provide money for the next two years from a capital expenditure point of view.

The majority of Sport Republic’s funding is coming from Solak.

He made his fortune through United Group in Serbia after becoming a key provider of broadband, mobile and pay-TV across eight countries in south-eastern Europe.

It’s worth mentioning, however, that United Group has nothing do to with Southampton. The Serbian businessman’s investment in Sport Republic is a private one.

One elephant in the room regarding Sport Republic’s takeover is the club’s £78.8 million loan, borrowed from MSD Holdings in 2020.

It’s understood that Southampton haven’t got the option to pay it back until June and that conversations will take place with the new owners about when it gets settled.

No decision has been made at this stage, but The Athletic can reveal that there is an intention to pay down part of this loan as soon as possible.

Now Southampton will be in a better financial position than before, and the effect on the balance sheet will be positive, this should only lead to more flexibility in the transfer market and other investments within the club.

What does Sport Republic’s acquisition of Southampton mean for Semmens, though?

Due to Gao being based in China, the chief executive has had the autonomy to run the club — within reason — how he wants to.

But with a new ownership group on board, they are surely going to be keen to play more of an active role than their predecessor.

“The checks and balances will probably change,” Semmens admits to The Athletic . “However, I once sat for three and a half hours with Rasmus, and he didn’t say a single word I disagreed with.

“They have the same ideas we have. I have the autonomy to run the club, but they will have an input on strategy.

“They don’t want to be influencing decisions on a day-to-day basis; we will build a plan together, and then they want us to go and execute the plan.”

Sport Republic intends to grow its business and at no point was there a desire on its behalf to take an overly active role in running Southampton.

Kraft and Ankersen both live in London and will make the short trip south to attend games — champions and league leaders Manchester City’s trip to St Mary’s on Saturday, January 22 is likely to be their first — but it’s believed they will not be attending daily meetings at the stadium.

For them, Southampton will act as a tool for their company to grow into the multi-club model they envisage.

So, how many clubs do they want to own, and is the project limited to football?

It’s hard to know for certain, but Tuesday’s statement alluded to the fact that this process will happen over several years rather than in a matter of days.

The expectation is that they will want a stable of at least four clubs, but it’s not yet known how many the new owners want to acquire.

“There will be investments in clubs, but also other areas in line with the experience and skill sets of the partners within Sport Republic,” adds Semmens.

“But is there an openness to invest in another sport that uses our technology and player pathway? Yes. I don’t think it’s stage one, but you could see it in the future.”

If Sport Republic’s multi-club model comes to fruition, Semmens says it’s likely players will be passed around within the group to aid their development and offer a different experience.

One element of the takeover that can be said with a level of certainty is that there are no plans to go in a different direction where Hasenhuttl is concerned.

Southampton’s manager was informed about the new majority shareholders on Tuesday and reacted in an incredibly positive manner, already excited about what the future may bring.

Asked whether Hasenhuttl should be worried that Sport Republic may want to appoint its own manager, Semmens said: “They believe in a continuous flow of planning, and they can see the path we’ve gone down with Ralph. They believe we are getting the benefits from that.

“What has worked here is we have set out long-term plans on how we play and how we develop players to fit that system. For example, recent games at West Ham and Tottenham have shown how we have developed players who can adapt and fit our style of play quickly, even if we change formation with 24 hours between games.”

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How Southampton recruit to add to successes such as Tino Livramento under the new owners will be of great interest (Photo: Andrew Matthews/PA Images via Getty Images)

Where supporters will pay particular interest — especially with Ankersen’s involvement in the takeover, having previously been at Brentford — is how Southampton will work in the transfer market.

Brentford take a data-heavy approach to how they go about signing players, and there is now an assumption Southampton will follow suit. To a certain extent, they already use data when it comes to recruitment, so their methods won’t change all that much.

“It (data) won’t be the only key indicator,” Semmens says. “The way we see it is that we have to have both; you need the human element and the data.

“The process will be to bring the two businesses and skill sets together and see what we’ve got. It’s about finding a hybrid solution with Sport Republic, and we are massively on board with that.

“What’s really important here is that we don’t have singular leadership, so there is always an openness to learning from new ideas.

“Sport Republic are also open-minded to our ideas, and that will develop at a strategic level.”

Although the way Southampton recruit won’t drastically change – they will still be targeting players of Tino Livramento’s ilk after the success of the teenager’s £5 million move from Chelsealast summer – the current structure of the board is being altered.

Southampton Football Club currently sits under the umbrella of St Mary’s Football Group Ltd, meaning two separate boards have two different purposes.

“We have a St Mary’s Football Group board, which I would call the ownership board,” Semmens explains. “Rasmus and Henrik will sit on that, as will Dragan.

“Toby (Steele, the managing director) will be going onto the board because they (Sport Republic) have seen the partnership between us. Katharina (Liebherr) and Rolf (Bogli) will also be on it. That group will be about strategy, other clubs, how we interact and future budgets.

“We then have a football club board, which operates the club day to day, and that won’t change.”

Bogli is minority owner Liebherr’s main advisor and played a key role in the takeover process. He acted on her and Gao’s behalf, with Semmens acting for the club during the talks with Sport Republic.

The Athletic previously revealed how Liebherr, who retains her 20 per cent share in Southampton, could veto any potential buyer.

It is understood she doesn’t have the option to do that with Sport Republic. So, if it decides to sell up in the future, Liebherr can no longer veto who it brings to the table.

If it comes to Sport Republic seeking new investment into its business, then that person or company will have to pass the Premier League owners’ and directors’ test as they will have a direct influence on Southampton.

Time will be the ultimate judge when it comes to assessing whether Sport Republic proves to be a successful owner or a busted flush.

For now, though, the fans should be able to look forward to a new, exciting ownership model, fresh ideas, no more being in limbo under Gao and a sense of opportunism about what could be in store for their football club over the next several years.

One way or the other, Semmens’ legacy as chief executive is most likely going to be defined by Sport Republic’s acquisition of the club.

If it works out perfectly, he’s a hero. If it doesn’t, there will be many who believe it will be on his shoulders.

It’s a theory he listens to, but now the takeover has been completed, his next mission is to ensure it is a roaring success.

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Thanks for that - as others have said, a very interesting talk. I’d also like to add that Rasmus Ankersen has truly lovely hair, and that it will be a privilege for Saints to be associated with him purely for that reason.

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I have slept on this.
I am extremely uneasy.

So a Media Group is investing in Football.
Sure we all know that Footbal is content and attracts subscribers, but should anyone Media related be allowed to own the clubs providing the content.
Where will it end?

"Tonight on NBCBS we bring you Amazon Dippers vs BT Plastics.
Please welcome your Celebrity Referees for this evening, ANT & DEC!
And on VAR we have Craig Revel Horwood who will be awarding bonus Goal Points for the best Choreographed Penalty Dives!

Meanwhile, over on Channel 7,962 we bring you the HUGE South Coast 3rd Round Cup Playoff between Saints Streaming United and their one time local rivals Disney Minus!
With a special appearance by the Coldplay Marching Band! driven by Tiff Needell!

And don’t forget folks, your VAR tonight for this game is everyone’s best mate - KEVIN FRIEND!

Nah. I’m out

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That’s really good, thanks.

I like this guy already.