It seems that the company in China looking to take over Saints have now ended their interest in doing so.

Lander Sports the Chinese company who were looking to take over at St Mary's have announced to the Chinese stockmarket that they have ended their bid for a stake in Saints.

In the announcement they said.

"Whether the company can eventually complete the acquisition of the target firm's shares remains uncertain.

"To keep to principle of prudence, ensure the company's development remains normal and to safeguard the majority of investors' interests, the company has decided to end this major asset restructuring."

What that means is unclear although it does seem to indicate that they will no longer be continuing with their bid.

Just what that bid was remains unclear as well, inititially when it became known Katharina Liebherr suggested that it was not to buy the club outright but around half of it for £190 million or thereabouts.

At the time the bid was announced by Lander Sports it came as a surprise to the fans and also to the club as they thought that both parties had agreed to keep the deal quiet for the time being.

This was the first indication that perhaps Lander Sports were not the type of company that Saints supporters would want involved, whether that was the reason for the break down in talks and the deal we will perhaps never know, but certainly from that point onwards what had seemed like a straightforward transaction now seemed to be a little more complicated.

Certainly Katharina Liebherr has always made her intention to ensure that the club's best interests are met in any deal clear as she stated back in January.

“Please understand that I can only make limited comments regarding this process but I can assure you that any steps we do take will be in the best interests of the club. A potential partnership would need to clear multiple approvals and fulfil strict criteria before being confirmed.

“The Premier League is increasingly competitive; we need to keep moving forward and look to new markets for commercial growth, innovation and to share our journey. Together we have had many years of progression and success, and ensuring this continues is the main focus of any possible partnership.”

In that statement she suggested that this was definitely a partnership and that could have been the stumbling block, did the Chinese want complete control and would that have been a good thing.

Saints fans should think carefully about what they would wish for, the Liebherr's have been good owners, they have taken the club forward and have put it on a business footing and made it competitive within those constraints.

Throwing money at the club will not suddenly make it successful, you have to take into account that however much a new owner would throw at a club the size of Saints there are still at least six other clubs with far far greater spending power and resources.

Our current structure will only take us so far, Katharina Liebherr is right to seek a partner in taking us forward, but it should be a partner and not a new owner, gone are the days when rich owners can throw in what they want and hopefully gone are the days when they can also just pull out and leave that club on the brink of extinction as our friends down the road at Pompey found out.

Katharina Liebherr is going about things the right way, she has been honourable in the way that she has picked this club up after her Father's death and got it back on track off the field to the point it is now self sufficient.

Those who say she is lining her pockets should firstly consider that if that was the case then why did she not just sell Mane, Pelle etc last summer and pocket the money instead of reinvesting it all back into the squad and secondly why did she not just flog it to Lander for £210 million with no questions asked.

Photo: Action Images

IanRC added 10:23 - Apr 17 Thank heavens for that. Those who claim Katherine Leibhurr does not have the club's best interests at heart should wake up and smell the coffee, I know who I would much prefer to financially own the club.
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highfield49 added 11:11 - Apr 17 Nick I've no idea who our friends are down the road at Pompey, is that irony or euphemism? Saturday demonstrated the huge gulf we have to cross to get anywhere near to competing for the top four and, increasingly, the top seven. Even with huge investment and retaining the best of our players a top six spot cannot be a given as the gulf grows wider and wider. Thankfully this apparent bunch of financial cowboys has decided to ride off into the sunset and we can only hope that the next potential investors can demonstrate more honesty and integrity. The club needs investment but not at any cost. I'd rather stay mid table and ensure that I have a team to follow than try to grab the impossible with anonymous unaccountable backers. Time for us all to reflect and think about what we wish for.

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SunP added 11:44 - Apr 17 To me Lander seemed a great chance for further growth of the club. And it would be a nightmare to see Pompey growing above us in the next couple of years with the support of Disney Eisner. Swiss Bilanz Magazine shows that Ms Liebherr is far away from the billionaires club of Top PL club owners ( http://www.bilanz.ch/300-Reichste-live?rid=3479&page=list ). So it's no surprise to see her lately pulling out funds by reducing shareholder loans. Therefore a professional and wealthy partner like Lander should be most welcome.

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ItchenNorth added 12:34 - Apr 17 Investment was fine but a Lander takeover; no thanks.
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SanMarco added 13:02 - Apr 17 Lander are not wealthy SunP. I think Nick's paragraph says it all: "Saints fans should think carefully about what they would wish for, the Liebherr's have been good owners, they have taken the club forward". NOTHING I read about Lander suggested that they were the ones to take us further forward. I think the gap with the top 6 that Highfield mentions is a very big issue, maybe in some ways insurmountable for us, but a bunch of cowboys aint the answer...

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SunP added 13:19 - Apr 17 Fully agree that we should be careful. But I wish the club would inform us more open on the things going on. E.g. they've never told us who Lander are and what their intentions are. And some of their activities look promising to me and in line with our own ones: http://en.ytsports.cn/news-1605.html http://www.caixinglobal.com/2017-03-08/101063881.html
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helpineedsomebody added 16:31 - Apr 17 Reasons to be cheerfully 1 2 3 1 sfc 60 MILLION POUNDS IN DEDT=somebody has to pay that back in bank + interest 2 if Mr &Mrs Wong had bought the club for 160millionpounds the club would be in dedt forever 3 tubby now has to spend some of her own money instead of borrowing from banks +selling our best players to fund transfer fees or looking as if she is putting her own money in its a smoke screen 4 If Nick cortes was doing this you would be over him like a rash how the directors of this club are allowing her to do this they should be looking at themselves just a few years ago we were only 4 million in dedt and look what the banks did to us. You nick ilings worth are no better the them you should be looking at your position talk about a lack of responceablty 5 38 seasons never missed a home game so don't tell me illingsworth who you goinget to support now I'm a winner was there in 76 was you there loser

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Consigliere added 17:45 - Apr 17 Well I enjoy a rant as much as the next man - nay, more than the next man - but that last post rather lost me! If you are going to persuade us helpineed then you would do better to avoid abuse and stick to the point. I don't agree with a word of what you say either, the Leibherr family have been a force for good at the club.
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BoondockSaint added 17:56 - Apr 17 Just happy the confusion is over. Some reports had them buying a small stake and then others they were buying a huge stake (for the same amount!?) and Kat only having small stake. Kat needs to bring in more money but not lose control. Just let others buy in for very small stakes. It's just like investing in a West End Show: never risk your money, bring in others. I too am worried about the Eisner reports...he'll start widening their fan base with his marketing skills. We've had a head start the last few years, no local competition and can't seem to be bothered. He'll bring in other investors and has had success with the Angels and Ducks. Only hope is he visits and sees what he has to deal with.......

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SunP added 20:02 - Apr 17 Let's face reality: Kat has stated that a partner (investor) is needed to bring us to the next level. Last published financials show a reduction of the shareholder loan instead of injecting more funds. She might be tired of Corteses and Kruegers calling continuously for more funds. And as development of commercial income is not overwhelming, Lander with a huge Chinese market and various synergy effects (own football activities in China, ...) could cover many interests. I fully trust Kat that she would never have signed an agreement with Lander before make sure they are on the same page. Let's hope we'll be informed about the real story soon.

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saintmark1976 added 08:12 - Apr 18 Helpineedsomebody, tubby? Have you ever heard the expression "never judge a book by its cover"? If not I commend it to you.
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steve73 added 09:46 - Apr 18 I'm somewhat relieved by this. It may have made the club wealthier in the short term but I think I'd rather things stay as they are, rather than see our great club become nothing more than a subsidiary, and probably a cash cow, for a big corporation. One thing the Liebherr family have respected superbly is our club's identity, something that a lot of other clubs are losing. I'd be happy to see Kat remain at the helm for many more years. Oh, and that illiterate, offensive nonsense from helpineedsomebody was surely out of line. We all vent our opinions, sure. But Mr Wong?? Tubby?? Should be removed, makes us all look bad.

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Sanguin added 09:54 - Apr 18 As much as I think we can push on a challenge for consistent European qualification, I do not think the club can get much more valuable than it is now. We’re looking at consistent top 10 finishes and I can’t see our value overtaking the top 7. It seems the club has grown from the initial £15m that Liebherr bought the club for to an estimated £400m. That is a huge return on investment and I wouldn’t begrudge Katharina selling while we are in such a great position, especially given that her family saved our club. The fact that she hasn’t sold shows her commitment to the right deal for the club and her commitment to the future of Southampton. Whatever your opinion of Katharina, it’s better the devil you know and I think we’ve dodged a bullet.

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TeamCortese added 14:47 - Apr 18 This isn't over yet chaps ;) http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2017-04/18/content_28982895.htm
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