1,000 Days Since Briatore/Ecclestone Takeover

[QPR Report]

It's some 1,000 days since the Briatore-Ecclestone takeover was under way - Give or take!

And one of the most amazing statements given that this was a legal, official statement and that this was simply, blatantly NOT CORRECT (as every QPR fan knew)
"...QPR is one of the best supported football clubs in the Championship with attendance at home games averaging approximately 20,000, in the 2006/2007 season... "
www.qpr.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10373~1103904,00.html


The Times - August 24, 2007

QPR confirm takeover discussions

Formula One chief Flavio Briatore in pole position as football club reveals talks with a 'number of parties'Steve Hawkes and Agencies Recommend? Flavio Briatore, the multi-millionaire businessman who is head of the Renault Formula One team, has confirmed he is interested in buying debt-riddled Coca-Cola Championship club Queens Park Rangers but warned he would not “go crazy” to complete the sale.

Briatore today said he is involved with “a bunch of friends” in looking to acquire the Coca-Cola Championship club. However, the Italian has conceded the consortium is one of several parties looking to take over the troubled Loftus Road outfit.

“We started talking by chance, but there are a lot of people in England talking with QPR at the moment,” said Briatore ahead of this weekend’s Turkish Grand Prix in Istanbul.

“We have not put in any offer. Absolutely nothing formal has been done, but the lawyers are working. We know where we are and what we want to do. If it happens then I will be very happy, but we are not going to go crazy to have this club.”

Briatore concedes the closest he has come to the ground is when he has flown over it in his helicopter en route to Renault’s base in Oxfordshire. However, he has met current QPR chairman and fellow Italian Gianni Paladini, albeit that was a chance encounter.

Should Briatore and his group gain control of the club, he insists his involvement will be strictly behind the scenes. “My business is in Formula One,” he said. “It is 100 per cent. The focus for me is next year because we need to be competitive again. It’s like Cipriani (a restaurant he owns in Mayfair). I don’t go in the kitchen to cook the food. I occasionally go there to eat, and with QPR I will occasionally go to a match. Nothing more.”

Briatore has confirmed the present management, with John Gregory in charge, would remain unchanged if his takeover succeeds, adding: “Everything is perfect.”

He declined to comment on his plans for QPR, although he remarked: “It is like with anything I am involved with - I want to be successful.”

Briatore masterminded Renault’s rise to dominance in Formula One, with the team winning the drivers’ and constructors’ championships in 2005 and 2006. The 57-year-old also created and runs fashion brand ’Billionaire’, while he owns pharmaceutical company Pierrel.

Queens Park Rangers have made a short stock market statement which said: “Following the recent comments in the press, the board of QPR announces that it is engaged in discussions with a number of parties that may or may not lead to an offer being made for the entire issued share capital of the company.

“The board will advise shareholders of any further significant developments.”

Paladini had described Briatore’s interest last week as a “dream come true”. He said: “Mr Briatore wants to do for QPR Mohammed Fayed has for Fulham and turn us into a Premier League club.”

He had warned that the club faced administration and a 10-point fine unless a rescue package could be found.

QPR is thought to be £17 million in the red and needs to pay a £1.3 million bill to the Inland Revenue by September 1.

On Monday, all three board directors, Nick De Marco, James Ferrary and Kevin Steele, resigned.

In a statement on the club’s official website, they said: “We believe the new investment coming into the club will be the most important for years.

“It will save QPR from the perilous financial position we have found ourselves in and should put the club in an excellent position to move forward.”

www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/football_league/article2321882.ece

[QPR Report]

And then a couple of days later at the end of August 2007

"After a Final Round of Talks"...Briatore & Ecclestone Set to Announce QPR Purchase!-

Guardian - Stuart James and David Hytner Friday August 31, 2007
"...Flavio Briatore is set to announce that he has purchased a majority stake in Queens Park Rangers, together with Bernie Ecclestone, his fellow formula one powerbroker, after a final round of talks in London last night.
The Championship club are carrying debt of £21m, including a £10m loan from the Panama-based ABC Corporation at an annual interest rate of 10%. But Briatore, the Renault principal, in tandem with Ecclestone, the formula one rights holder, who has changed his mind from three weeks ago and clambered on board, intend to pay off ABC.
Their takeover is estimated to be worth £25m but they will also back John Gregory, the manager, with funds in the transfer market. QPR's board resigned last week to clear the way for the new investors. Guardian


Thursday, August 30, 2007

Ecclestone and Briatore's QPR Purchase
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[To be updated!] UPDATED 1:30 pm

DAILY MAIL - QPR set to confirm Briatore's takeover
Queens Park Rangers are expected to announce today that they have been taken over by a consortium headed by Renault Formula One racing team boss Flavio Briatore and the sport's billionaire supremo Bernie Ecclestone.
The takeover of the club is expected to be worth about £25m - including taking on a debt of about £21m.
And manager John Gregory has been promised a war chest of £10m to spend on players in January, though he will hope for a quick injection of funds to do deals before the transfer window closes tomorrow night. Mail

SkyNews Bernie Set To Join In For QPR Bid

Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone looks set to be part of the team that is going to snap up Queens Park Rangers football club.
He is understood to have teamed up with Renault racing chief Flavio Briatore to buy the Championship club in a deal that could be announced as early as today.
Mr Ecclestone - who is worth around £2.2bn - is also linked to a possible £780m offer for Arsenal.
He apparently decided against going for this deal when his Italian colleague initially approached him but has since changed his mind.
Both men are businessmen, rather than keen football fans.
It is expected that they will bring their business acumen to play in the football arena, having transformed Formula One from a minority interest into a multi-billion pound industry employing tens of thousands of people around the world.
Flavio Briatore, meanwhile, has great taste in drivers - he spotted the talent of former world champions Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso among others.
The Italian tycoon has only seen Loftus Road, QPR's stadium, by air from a helicopter on his way from Chelsea to Oxfordshire.
Any new partnership is expected to repay a £10m loan owed by QPR six year ago and which has been responsible for the heavy burden of interest payments. Skynews

The Sun - August 30 - F1 chiefs win race for QPR - By BOB HAYES
FORMULA ONE bosses Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore have won the battle to take over QPR.
The duo’s successful 50-50 bid for the Championship club is expected to be announced today.
The deal means the club will pay off an outstanding £3million tax bill to the Inland Revenue.
A further £10m budget will be available to Rangers boss John Gregory for the January transfer window.
The new owners will also repay a £10m loan taken out by the club six years ago to get out of administration. That debt has been costing the club £1m in interest a year.
Chairman Gianni Paladini will stay in day-to-day control of the club.
Ecclestone has a £2.2billion fortune after turning Grand Prix racing into a massive money-spinner.
Briatore, the Renault team chief, is the man who spotted a young Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso. The Sun

[QPR Report]

Further Board Departures
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[No longer listed as Directors of QPR: Antonio Caliendo, Olga Paladini, and Franco Zanotti. Akin Yilmaz is also no longer listed as Financial Controller.] (Last week, On Monday, three board directors, Nick De Marco, James Ferrary and Kevin Steele departed]/

QPR Official Site - Staff Directory
Chairman - Gianni Paladini
Club Secretary - Sheila Marson
Financial Controller - Mark Cooke


QPR Takeover - Ecclestone and Briatore in Joint Consortium
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The Times - August 30, 2007 - Ecclestone chooses QPR over Arsenal
Gary Jacob and Edward Gorman

Bernie Ecclestone will acquire a majority stake in Queens Park Rangers as part of a takeover that is expected to be announced today, but he has not ruled out bidding to take over at Arsenal at a later date. The Formula One rights holder is joined in a con-sortium by Flavio Briatore, the principal at the Renault Formula One team and one of his closest allies, whose interest was reported by The Times this month.

Ecclestone ruled himself out of the deal when first approached by Briatore, but he has since changed his mind. They could offer a solution for fans desperate for their club to return to their former glory — they finished eighth in the top flight as recently as 1995, but were relegated a season later. They have since spent three seasons in the third tier of English football, beset by financial problems.

Neither businessman is known for a love of football — although they are friendly with Roman Abramovich, the Chelsea owner, and have been to matches at Stamford Bridge — but their sharp thinking has gained a unique place in Formula One. Ecclestone transformed Formula One into a multibillion-pound industry that employs thousands of people in Britain alone, while Briatore helped to master-mind the transfer of a little-known Michael Schumacher and spotted Fernando Alonso, both of whom he helped to turn into world champions.

Briatore, the flamboyant Italian who is thought to be worth about £70 million, has admitted that he has seen Loftus Road, the club’s stadium, only from the air, en route by helicopter from his home in Chelsea to his team’s headquarters in Oxfordshire. Ecclestone, whose fortune is valued at £2.2 billion, would have to sell most of his stake in QPR, the Coca-Cola Championship club, if he wanted to complete the bid for Arsenal that he has said that he is interested in pursuing. The directors of the Barclays Premier League club have agreed not to sell their shares until at least April.

The takeover of QPR will be worth about £25 million, including taking on the debt of about £21 million. John Gregory, the QPR manager, has been promised about £10 million to spend on players in January, but he will hope that there may be funds to bring in some players before the transfer window closes tomorrow night.

The new owners will repay the £10 million that is owed to the ABC Corporation, a company registered in Panama, which provided a loan that helped the club to exit administration six years ago. The interest payments of 10 per cent have been a considerable burden.

The club borrowed a further £1.3 million from the same company to stave off the threat of administration this summer, money that was used to pay Revenue & Customs. QPR still owe the taxman about £3 million and their directors, including Antonio Caliendo, the chairman of QPR Holdings Ltd, and Gianni Paladini, the club chairman, are owed £7 million in loans.

The new owners will probably look at whether it is feasible to continue playing at Loftus Road. Despite its position in West London, the stadium has been estimated by property experts to be worth about £24 million because covenants on the site limit the housing that can be built. QPR officials have previously considered building a joint stadium in West London with Fulham, who would sell Craven Cottage. The officials have looked at a site near the BBC headquarters in Wood Lane, White City.

Other consortiums, including one involving Ronny Rosenthal, the former Liverpool forward, were entertained by QPR this summer, but the business-men felt that the sums could not add up unless the club went into administration to restructure the debt.

Dual control

— Bernie Ecclestone’s involvement in the deal to buy Queens Park Rangers could prevent the Formula One ringmaster from taking over Arsenal.

— Ecclestone would not be allowed to own more than 9.9 per cent of the shares in another club. David Sullivan, the Birmingham City co-owner, owned about 5 per cent of the shares in West Ham United until he sold up to Eggert Magnússon last season. The Times


Bernie Ecclestone on Investing in QPR
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The Business Aug 29 - Ecclestone says he will consider QPR bid Rupert Steiner

"Bernie Eccelstone, the billionaire entrepreneur behind Formula One racing, says he is one of the mystery investors who have been approached to join a consortium mounting a bid for Queens Park Rangers (QPR), the troubled London football club.
It is the first time Ecclestone, who has also been linked with a £780m (E1.1bn, $1.5bn) bid to buy Arsenal, has confirmed he is considering joining Flavio Briatore, the Renault F1 boss, who is in informal talks to buy QPR.
“Briatore would like me to join him,” Ecclestone told The Business. “I am not sure what I am going to do at the moment. It depends how much it is. If it is sensible money then maybe yes, why not.”
Last weekend Briatore, speaking at the Turkish grand prix, said: “We have a bunch of friends together. We’ve been talking for the past month but I’ve no idea where we are. QPR are talking to a lot of people.” He refused to name the “friends” involved.
Ecclestone said that any investment would be a private venture rather than take place though his family trusts or the many holding companies connected with F1: “I am looking at it. It would be me personally – nothing do with the trusts. They could never get involved in this sort of thing – it would be more a hobby. It’s a lot smaller than Arsenal. It can only go up, it can’t go down because it is just about the bottom of everything.”
The club, which is owned by a Monaco-based consortium led by Antonio Caliendo, the club chairman, survived administration six years ago and has debts of £21m. A £10m loan to ABC Corporation of Panama is secured against the Loftus Park Stadium in Shepherd’s Bush, which is worth more than £20m.
The board of QPR, currently in talks with three separate parties, expects to have identified a preferred bidder by the end of September." The Business


Reported Briatore Philosophy re Running QPR
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From Teamtalk - Briatore to bring F1 to football
Flavio Briatore intends to bring his experience of running successful F1 teams into English football if he completes his takeover of QPR.Briatore, head of the Renault F1 team, is heading a consortium who have made an offer to buy the cash-strapped Coca-Cola Championship club.
"A group of friends and I made an offer because there was an opportunity," he told Spanish newspaper Marca.
"It was an opportunity to do something in football, as I believe that Formula One, from the paddock to the hospitalities, can teach a couple of things to football."
Briatore does not intend throwing money around should he eventually take over at Loftus Road, however, as he insists spending big does not guarantee success in the sporting world.
"The proof of this from the opposite side is that Toyota, considering all the money they have spent, should have won World Championship by now," he added. Teamtalk

[QPR Report]

QPR Official Site- CLUB STATEMENT Sat 01 Sep 2007
Queens Park Rangers Football Club is delighted to announce Flavio Briatore and Bernie Ecclestone have made a recommended offer for the Club.
Mr Gianni Paladini will remain as Chairman of QPR and Mr Flavio Briatore, Mr Bruno Michel and Mr Alejandro Agag will be invited to join the Board.
Mr Antonio Caliendo and Mr Franco Zanotti have agreed to resign from the Board of QPR.
Speaking exclusively to www.qpr.co.uk today, Briatore said: "Bernie and I were delighted to receive a recommendation from the Board of QPR for our bid for the Club and we look forward to working alongside Gianni Paladini and his team.
"We are fully aware of the history of QPR and the loyal fan base that it has; we are therefore totally committed to bringing future success back to the Club.
"Gianni, Bernie and I are all determined to see the Club return to the Premiership as soon as possible."
Paladini added: "This Offer provides much needed investment and an excellent opportunity to move the Club forward, which in turn, we are sure, will be translated into positive results on the pitch.
"I am delighted that Flavio and Bernie have asked me to remain on the Board of the Club, and hope to play a large part in the future success of QPR Football Club."
*The Club will be making no further comment at this stage, as our focus today remains on celebrating the life and times of Ray Jones, who tragically died in a motor accident last weekend.
*Details of a press conference will follow in due course. QPR

The full (lengthy) announcement "THE DEAL: IN DETAIL
1 September 2007
RECOMMENDED CASH OFFER FOR QPR HOLDINGS LIMITED ("QPR" OR THE "CLUB")
BY SARITA CAPITAL INVESTMENT INC ("SARITA CAPITAL") Summary and Highlights....
Complete Official/Legal "The Deal in Detail"
www.qpr.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10373~1103904,00.html


"QPR is one of the best supported football clubs in the Championship with attendance at home games averaging approximately 20,000, in the 2006/2007 season. "

qprreport.blogspot.com/2008/09/one-year-anniversary-of-qpr-takeoveron.html




AP -Ecclestone, Briatore set to buy Queens Park Rangers after board recommends bid
Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone and Renault team principal Flavio Briatore are set to buy Queens Park Rangers after the English soccer club's board recommended the pair's offer.
QPR, which plays in the second-tier League championship, announced the move Saturday.
The takeover has been mooted at 30 million pounds (US$60.5 million; ?44.4 million) by British papers and should mean the west London team can now plan without the threat of financial administration.
QPR has struggled since relegation from the Premier League in 1996, at one point dropping into the third tier for three seasons, and also owed tax to Britain's Inland Revenue.
Had the club entered financial administration - continuing operations without selling off assets to pay debts - it would have had 10 points automatically deducted from its league total under Football League rules.
Gianni Paladini will carry on as chairman, with Briatore, Bruno Michel and Alejandro Agag joining the board in place of Antonio Caliendo and Franco Zanotti.
"This offer provides much needed investment and an excellent opportunity to move the club forward, which in turn, we are sure, will be translated into positive results on the pitch,'' Paladini said.
QPR was a regular in English soccer's top division and was a founder member of the Premier League in 1992. Winner of the League Cup in 1967, the closest QPR ever came to winning the English championship was in 1976, when it came within one point of edging powerhouse Liverpool.
"We are fully aware of the history of QPR and the loyal fan base that it has,'' Briatore said. "We are therefore totally committed to bringing future success back to the club.''
Ecclestone had been linked with a move for Arsenal, but his chances of buying into the Premier League powerhouse seemed to end Thursday when former vice chairman David Dein sold his 14.58 percent stake to a consortium led by Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov. AP

BBC - F1 magnates to take over at QPR
QPR have confirmed that Flavio Briatore and Bernie Ecclestone have made a recommended offer for the club.
Gianni Paladini will remain as chairman but Antonio Caliendo and Franco Zanotti have agreed to resign from the board.
Briatore told the club website: "Bernie and I were delighted to receive a recommendation from the QPR board for our bid for the club.
Paladini said: "This offer provides much needed investment and an excellent opportunity to move the club forward." BBC

Guardian - Ecclestone and Briatore take control of QPR
QPR have confirmed that Formula One magnates Flavio Briatore and Bernie Ecclestone have "made a recommended offer" for the Coca-Cola Championship club. Briatore, head of the Renault F1 team, and Ecclestone will now take control of the club although current chairman Gianni Paladini will remain in position.
Briatore told the club's official website http://www.qpr.co.uk: "Bernie and I were delighted to receive a recommendation from the board of QPR for our bid for the club and we look forward to working alongside Gianni Paladini and his team. We are fully aware of the history of QPR and the loyal fanbase that it has and are totally committed to bringing future success back to the club."
Paladini said: "This offer provides much needed investment and an excellent opportunity to move the club forward which will be translated into positive results on the pitch. I am delighted that Flavio and Bernie have asked me to remain on the board and I hope to play a large part in the future of QPR."
The news was announced prior to the Championship clash with Southampton at Loftus Road, where all 11 Rangers players donned shirts carrying Ray Jones' name on the back. The 18-year-old striker was killed last weekend in a car accident and the club confirmed that no further comment on the takeover would be made today.
A statement said: "The club will be making no further comment at this stage, as our focus today remains on celebrating the life and times of Ray Jones, who tragically died in a motor accident last weekend." Guardian


PA Sport, Tom Rostance - ECCLESTONE IN AT QPR
QPR have confirmed that Formula One magnates Flavio Briatore and Bernie Ecclestone have "made a recommended offer" for the Coca-Cola Championship club.
Briatore, head of the Renault F1 team, and Ecclestone will now take control of the club although current chairman Gianni Paladini will remain in position.
Briatore told the club's official website http://www.qpr.co.uk: "Bernie and I were delighted to receive a recommendation from the board of QPR for our bid for the club and we look forward to working alongside Gianni Paladini and his team.
"We are fully aware of the history of QPR and the loyal fanbase that it has and are totally committed to bringing future success back to the club."
Paladini said: "This offer provides much needed investment and an excellent opportunity to move the club forward which will be translated into positive results on the pitch.
"I am delighted that Flavio and Bernie have asked me to remain on the board and I hope to play a large part in the future of QPR."
The news was announced prior to the Championship clash with Southampton at Loftus Road, where all 11 Rangers players donned shirts shirts carrying Ray Jones' name on the back.
The 18-year-old striker was killed last weekend in a car accident and the club confirmed that no further comment on the takeover would be made today.
A statement said: "The club will be making no further comment at this stage, as our focus today remains on celebrating the life and times of Ray Jones, who tragically died in a motor accident last weekend." Sporting Life


SKY - F1 Bosses Take Over QPR
QPR have confirmed that Formula One magnates Flavio Briatore and Bernie Ecclestone have "made a recommended offer" for the club.
Briatore, head of the Renault F1 team, and Ecclestone, who runs Formula One, will now take control at Loftus Road.
Current chairman Gianni Paladini will remain in position.
Briatore said: "Bernie and I were delighted to receive a recommendation from the board of QPR for our bid for the club and we look forward to working alongside Gianni Paladini and his team.
"We are fully aware of the history of QPR and the loyal fanbase that it has and are totally committed to bringing future success back to the club."
Paladini said: "This offer provides much needed investment and an excellent opportunity to move the club forward which will be translated into positive results on the pitch.
"I am delighted that Flavio and Bernie have asked me to remain on the board and I hope to play a large part in the future of QPR." Skynews

[ingham]

The myth is that the directors' wealth is what counts.

The reality is:

(a) the size of the Club

(b) the TV money.

QPR have had far wealthier directors than Man Utd, but United are still marginally more successful than we've been. And although Fulham and Chelsea have both improved, it's the Club's money they're spending, not the directors'.

[Macmoish]

Bump a year...Now obviously approaching 1500 Days (in a few months)....