On Sunday Lander Sports issued a statement saying that they were pulling out of buying Saints, however now they are saying something quite different.

News portal chinadaily.com is now reporting that the deal is not actually dead and may go ahead just not quite as planned, although just how this will work is still unclear.

Last Sunday, Lander Sports issued a statement, saying it was terminating plans to invest in St. Mary's Football Group. The statement cited uncertainty following changes in China's securities market and relevant policies. Most interpreted the statement as evidence that the deal was dead.

But Lander Holding Group has today said it intends to see the deal go forward, but that it will involve the unlisted parent company directly, and not be done through the subsidiary. Lander has refused to issue additional comments.

Just what this means is unclear, do Lander mean they are now going to buy Saints through Lander Holding Group rather than Lander Sports or are they trying to buy Southampton's parent company rather than the Football group.

It s all rather confusing and it now seems that Lander Holdings seem determined to keep a quieter profile on the deal than their subsidary sports group was doing.

The value and details of the deal are still unclear although some sources are reporting it was for £210 million and that was for 80% of the football club.

Photo: Action Images

Sanguin added 16:53 - Apr 18 While I’m sure instilling confidence in the fans is very low on Lander’s agenda, this confusion is worrying.
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1970 added 17:52 - Apr 18 I expect Van Dyke to be sold regardless and with the news today about Tadic going to Italy which was probably generated by Saints board, Bertrand and Long will go as well, but still we could get Terry on a free and Ben Arfa , I really hoped Kat would sell up with our thanks of course, Coyr
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SunP added 18:06 - Apr 18 What I really do respect is that Lander informs their share/stakeholders about the actual situation. After yesterdays misinterpretation the statements from today put things in order: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2017-04/18/content_28982895.htm Quite different to our clubs communication policy.
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SunP added 18:16 - Apr 18 But our super communicating and motivating Chairman might be busy to care about his own interests: http://theprovince.com/sports/hockey/nhl/vancouver-canucks/report-canucks-intere Lucky we have Gareth, Les and a great team around them doing a marvelous job! But please be so kind and let us know what's going on.
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BoondockSaint added 20:18 - Apr 18 Just when you thought it was finished.......Why doesn't Eisner make a bid for us if he wants to buy on the South Coast? Premier League income from the start, new stadium, etc. Imagine all the money he will have to plow into the Skate Nation just to get competitive!
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A1079 added 21:55 - Apr 18 I had a similar thought Boondocksaint. If Liebherr are keen to find a partner (and I admit I am uncomfortable with any Chinese interest as the record of Chinese involvement in the Uk in football is not great) why not approach this Eisner guy. We already have a product in a good state with prospects.
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BoondockSaint added 01:27 - Apr 19 Hi A1079 I am still haunted by "what might have been" back in 2007 when Microsoft's Paul Allen was all set to buy the Saints and then the crooks on the board suddenly inflated the value because they thought he was stupid enough to overpay then. When he saw what type of people he was dealing with, he just dropped the whole idea. When you look at the success (and development of facilities and fan base) that he has brought to the Trailblazers, Seahawks and Sounders, it makes you want to sit down and have a good cry..... Here's hoping Eisner gets a good look at the Skates locale, stadium and fans and after a violent vomit, looks to the West. Any Saints supporters out there in the limo business who could pick him up at the airport and bring him to Saint Mary's instead?

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TeamCortese added 10:45 - Apr 19 Chinese takeover aside this statement by John Terry speaks volumes about the integrity of Chelsea FC. https://www.instagram.com/p/BTDzdjBjErI/?taken-by=johnterry.26 Just to let you know I have no respect for JT but I appreciate the manner in which he's departed Chelsea. If only our owner and management staff had managed Fonte's departure the same way...
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SonicBoom added 11:09 - Apr 19 I should think the major difference is that we would cost 200 million quid whereas he can buy Pompey for some luncheon vouchers, four panini stickers and an old JIm Davidson DVD.
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highfield49 added 11:27 - Apr 19 I think you're right Sonic, Pompey's value has gone up with their promotion. Just to think that a few weeks ago he could have bought them with the DVD, wasted opportunity.
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BoondockSaint added 13:10 - Apr 19 But think of the amount of money he will have to pay to bring them up to the standards of a proper football club! It's going to cost him a few million in soap alone!!
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SaintBrock added 13:18 - Apr 19 Nah!
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SaintBrock added 13:42 - Apr 19 That last stat can't be right Nick, once an investor has bought 51% of anything they become the majority shareholder and de facto owner; stock exchange rules require an investor to offer to buy the remaining 49% shareholding. If any company or person buys 51% of SFC, Holdings or whatever, Liebherr and her wishes become irrelevant. She has promise oversight but how can that work in practice? She either sells 100% or only 49%. Oversight could only be by doing extensive due diligence before any offer is accepted.

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garethhartwell added 15:55 - Apr 20 Actually the takeover rules do allow her to own a minority stake of between 11% and 49%. 10% or less and she can be bought out by the majority shareholders. I think there is some confusion with a different rule - when the new shareholders own 30% of the shares they are compelled to bid for at least 51% of them. But it's still true that if she has less than 50% of the voting rights, she will have little influence.

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