' Tycoon Vincent Tan to list his Cardiff in S'pore? '

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' Tycoon Vincent Tan to list his Cardiff in S'pore? '

BY RISEN JAYASEELAN AND AMP; NG BEI SHAN



PETALING JAYA: Billionaire Tan Sri Vincent Tan is eyeing Singapore’s Catalist market for the flotation of Cardiff City FC, according to sources.

Tan is said to have appointed CIMB Investment Bank Bhd as an advisor for the listing and had been wooed to list there by the Singapore Stock Exchange.

Tan owns 36.1% of Cardiff and since mid-2013 has declared that he had intentions to list the Welsh club.

He was reported as saying then: “We are looking at several options to raise money to pay the banks. I have invested so much, so now, I need to raise some money.”

The Catalist market is akin to Malaysia’s ACE Market that enables fast-growing companies to seek a listing under more flexible requirements such as the absence of financial admission criteria.

It is unclear how much Tan plans to raise from the initial public offering.



It is learnt that the tycoon had looked at the possibility of listing the English Premier League club on the local bourse. However, he had later been wooed by bankers and officials from across the causeway to list on the Singapore Stock Exchange.

In 2010, Tan had paid RM29mil (£6mil) alongside business partner Datuk Chan Tien Ghee to acquire the controlling stake in Cardiff, but had also inherited its debts that could have mounted to RM145mil (£30mil) at the time of acquisition.

Bankers conceded that valuing a football club these days was not easy. Earnings are also erratic. For example, Cardiff is now in a better position, considering it was promoted to the Premier League this year.

“However, if the club gets relegated, then this could negatively impact its earnings,” explained one banker.

There are challenges in listing football clubs, as some of them have performed badly.

The BBC reported that Cardiff had recorded losses of £13.6mil (RM71.91mil) as at end-May 2012 and had debt amounting to £83.1mil (RM439.39mil).

“The accounts also show that the debt to Langston, the company represented by ex-(Cardiff) City owner Sam Hammam, is put at £19.2mil (RM101.52mil), with a one-off payment of £5mil (RM26.44mil) due if (Cardiff) City reach the Premier League while the debt is outstanding,” said the English media.

Tan wanted to pare down its debt level and had called on Langston to renegotiate to a “fair level” so that the unsecured loan could be converted to equity.

He had expressed his willingness to turn the £63mil (RM333.11mil) loan he had given to the club into equity if that happened, according to the report.

Berjaya officials declined to comment.

Tan has been active in corporate exercises in recent times. A string of companies related to him like Berjaya Auto Bhd and Caring Pharmacy Group Bhd were floated on Bursa Malaysia recently, while his attempt to list Berjaya Sports Toto Bhd’s business trust in Singapore and 7-Eleven chain operator Seven Convenience Bhd in Malaysia had hit a snag.

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Most of the information in the article is massively out of date so it is either an old article or it was written by a crap journalist who hasn't bothered to do any research

Incredible latest news this article was written back in December 2013

Incredible latest news this article was written back in December 2013

Daniel, it was on FB today, with no date on it, talking about us back in Dec 2013.
Danniel, I forgot u have a Red top and have worn one.

Danny, I know u made a mistake, weve all made them in life, I know your back to BLUE

Incredible latest news this article was written back in December 2013

Daniel, it was on FB today, with no date on it, talking about us back in Dec 2013.
Danniel, I forgot u have a Red top and have worn one.

I have never ever worn the red top.

I have the grey tracksuit top which you may be referring too

I also have a framed red shirt signed by all the players.

I seem to recall pictures of you and tan laughing and joking last year.. please explain? Are you both good friends?

Bluewillriseagain

Incredible latest news this article was written back in December 2013

Daniel, it was on FB today, with no date on it, talking about us back in Dec 2013.
Danniel, I forgot u have a Red top and have worn one.

I have never ever worn the red top.

I have the grey tracksuit top which you may be referring too

I also have a framed red shirt signed by all the players.

I seem to recall pictures of you and tan laughing and joking last year.. please explain? Are you both good friends?

Bluewillriseagain

Danny,
Are u sure u never wore the Red top? Hmm

Tan has never been my friend and never ever will be. I gave him respect,which all people do in meetings, prob to much, but for 3hrs all I ever talked about was our Identity and I have 7 witnesses that day, who can verify that. I was laughing at Sam trying to tell me to stop it. But I never stopped and will never stop to we get our identity back and Sam,Tan or no one will shut me up.

Since that meeting,I have begun to despise the Dictator, as he made out he was listening and promised to meet half way lol

Incredible latest news this article was written back in December 2013

Daniel, it was on FB today, with no date on it, talking about us back in Dec 2013.
Danniel, I forgot u have a Red top and have worn one.

I have never ever worn the red top.

I have the grey tracksuit top which you may be referring too

I also have a framed red shirt signed by all the players.

I seem to recall pictures of you and tan laughing and joking last year.. please explain? Are you both good friends?

Bluewillriseagain

Danny,
Are u sure u never wore the Red top? Hmm

Tan has never been my friend and never ever will be. I gave him respect,which all people do in meetings, prob to much, but for 3hrs all I ever talked about was our Identity and I have 7 witnesses that day, who can verify that. I was laughing at Sam trying to tell me to stop it. But I never stopped and will never stop to we get our identity back and Sam,Tan or no one will shut me up.

Since that meeting,I have begun to despise the Dictator, as he made out he was listening and promised to meet half way lol

7 witnesses ok i believe you ha ha ha i am only winding you up

Incredible latest news this article was written back in December 2013

Daniel, it was on FB today, with no date on it, talking about us back in Dec 2013.
Danniel, I forgot u have a Red top and have worn one.

I have never ever worn the red top.

I have the grey tracksuit top which you may be referring too

I also have a framed red shirt signed by all the players.

I seem to recall pictures of you and tan laughing and joking last year.. please explain? Are you both good friends?

Bluewillriseagain

Danny,
Are u sure u never wore the Red top? Hmm

Tan has never been my friend and never ever will be. I gave him respect,which all people do in meetings, prob to much, but for 3hrs all I ever talked about was our Identity and I have 7 witnesses that day, who can verify that. I was laughing at Sam trying to tell me to stop it. But I never stopped and will never stop to we get our identity back and Sam,Tan or no one will shut me up.

Since that meeting,I have begun to despise the Dictator, as he made out he was listening and promised to meet half way lol

7 witnesses ok i believe you ha ha ha i am only winding you up

Danny, I have to admit, u did wind me up there

See u at the next Protest

Annis. I can't see what colour top anyone wears makes any difference when all he has stated is that article is plain lazy journalism which is out of date, but hey ho more hits I suppose.

Annis. I can't see what colour top anyone wears makes any difference when all he has stated is that article is plain lazy journalism which is out of date, but hey ho more hits I suppose.

Jules,
Danny and I were winding each up, were mates.

But yes the colour of the top does mean something to me, each to their own, but Red is 100% not for me

my apologies, did not know it was an inside joke On a personal note, I think we will in blue next season whatever division we are in

Keep the Faith.

my apologies, did not know it was an inside joke On a personal note, I think we will in blue next season whatever division we are in

Keep the Faith.

No probs

I really hope so

Keep the faith lads I can't see how we cannot return to blue it makes sense on every possible level commercially and nostalgically

I would say there's a better chance if we go down though ;(