David Lowe has warned Celtic fans that their club is vulnerable to a take-over from the Middle East or American speculators.
According to Market Screener Dermot Desmond owns 34.7% of the club shares but with upto 20% of the shares issued in 1995 effectively dormant the Irish businessman has around 50% of the active shares. Almost every motion at the AGM goes through on votes of 98 or 99%.
There is currently a frenzy of interest in takeovers at leading EPL clubs following the Saudi backed Newcastle United deal last season.
Manchester United’s American owners, the Glazer family are looking to sell their stake in the club with speculation about Middle East interest in Liverpool and Spurs.
Celtic would be a loose change purchase compared to Manchester United or Spurs with Lowe explaining to the Herald the situation that the Scottish champions are in:
Before money came in, it was the local butcher, baker and candlestick maker who owned clubs. In the 1980s and 1990s, it was local millionaires. Now, a further generation on, it is billionaires.
Now that Pandora’s Box has been opened, you have billionaires of every hue owning ‘franchises’. They are like trophies, assets, for them. I have worked for American owners. They are not really interested in success, they are interested in breaking even.
They know there are more billionaires than sports franchises in the world and if they break even they will get more for it than they did when they bought it. The Americans at Manchester United and Liverpool are now wanting to cash in their chips.
Anyone can wade in with money and buy any club at any time. In the UK it is a free for all. That is part of the Celtic concern. Nothing is not for sale forever, everything and everyone has a price. I know that from personal experience.
What the Celtic Trust are doing is about balance, equilibrium, co-ownership with corporate interest. It is a protective measure against a hostile takeover.
In over 20 years the Celtic Trust has failed to grab the imagination of the supporters or individual shareholders.
Lowe was involved with Fergus McCann’s takeover in 1994 and later became chairman of the Celtic Trust for a brief period, resigning in 2021.
The surprise is that there haven’t been ‘second tier’ investors sniffing around CFC.
Maybe they have but it’s just been kept quiet?
CFC does have some global brand awareness – OK, nothing like a ManU or Real Madrid – but there is further potential, and at a fraction of the buying price of an EPL club.
‘Better the Devil you know’ with DD…?
I think Celtic is currently valued at £120M but more importantly we have approximately £40M in the bank plus a sellable asset in Lennoxtown if housing development conditions change as they surely will sometime.
With the redevelopment of Barrowfield you have to question the longterm viability of Lennoxtown.
Essentially though, anyone paying £120M immediately has £40M and more assets.
On the face of it that is a very good deal.
You wouldn’t think , if a genuine interest is there from Middle East or USA and their billions , that’ it’s only for Scottish football . That wouldn’t make financial sense .
It would only do so to billionaire investors if there was a shift in European competition.
Personally , whatever it takes to rid ourselves of this festering cheating Masonic league , I’d be up for it .
I think our second biggest shareholder is an American investment company. They own about 22%.
That’s Fergus McCann who sold the bulk of his shares to Desmond and walked with a MASSIVE PROFIT in his back pocket.
He effectively quadrupled his investment in 5 years.
If the likes of Lowe were interested in the long term future of Celtic then surely they might have suggested to Fergus that he should have walked with a sizeable profit leaving Supporters with more control than he did.
Would doubling his Investment not have been enough?
Then perhaps we wouldn’t find ourselves in the same position as Lowe suggests we do now.
Also had Fergus opted to do so would the debacle of the last decade or so been play out as it has (5 Way Agreements,Lost Revenues due to EBT’s ,Resolution 12 beimg kicked down the road and into the long grass and Peter Lawwells control reaching the levels it did had he done so?
I doubt it.
For those who argue Fergus saved Celtic there is no argument there BIT there is reasonable ground to ask whether him quadrupling his Investment and walking with such vast sums was ethical at a Club who were set up as charitable entity.
I wonder what the man behind the dream who’s statue that sits outside the plush offices at Celtic Park would have thought at the time?
I’ve long argued that the 50+1 German Model would suit Celtic best and also safeguard the future against such things.
We’ve tried all the other options perhaps it is time we tried this.
I don’t trust any of them long term.
Never have ,never will.
” … Everyone Has A Price. I Know That From Personal Experience.”
What does that mean?
If DD was offered a good price, would he sell? I don’t know. He’s got plenty of money, so why would he sell? To get Celtic off of his hands? I am not so sure he would!
If he did, he would surely be putting small Scottish Clubs out of the game, literally. They wouldn’t survive if Celtic weren’t in, or had gravitation towards another League.
Celtic has never been about elitism, so, no I don’t see us going down that road. Not even for a price!