America's No. 1 financial conglomerate

Chapter 523 Where Did the Money Go?

The tacit acceptance of the majority of Manchester United fans has made it seem as if dark clouds have gathered over England.

All the media reporters were filled with a sense of sorrow, and countless pens wrote similar questions: Is this century-old club, which has witnessed English football from its infancy to its peak, really going to become a tool for American capital to pursue profits?

Behind this problem lies a deeper level of panic.

As the current flagship club of English football, if Manchester United has succumbed to the allure of capital, how long can other teams hold out?

How far away is it from them being acquired by foreign capital?

Will Newcastle, Arsenal, or even Liverpool, the most glorious club in English history, follow in Manchester United's footsteps?

I don't know if Jesus heard their prayers, but overnight, it seemed like the Premier League had been invaded by capital.

Several clubs have been put on the takeover negotiating table, and the traditional foundation of English football is facing an unprecedented challenge.

On October 24, an exclusive report by the Daily Mail thrust Nottingham Forest, a long-established football club, into the eye of the storm.

They stated that anonymous foreign capital is contacting the club with the intention of completing the acquisition.

The news sparked widespread mourning in the British media, as this is a club with a history spanning over a century, even longer than Manchester United.

As a team that once created a miracle that shocked the world of football, under the leadership of legendary coach Bryan Crowff, the team won the European Cup for two consecutive seasons in 1978-79 and 1979-80, becoming the only team in the history of the Champions League to achieve this feat.

One of the few teams to successfully defend their title.

The club has also won one English top-flight league title, four FA Cup titles, and two League Cup titles. Its historical heritage and competitive honors are in no way inferior to those of giants like Manchester United and Liverpool.

However, it is also regrettable that Nottingham Forest, once a dominant force in Europe, has experienced a precipitous decline in its development trajectory.

This season, as a newly promoted team competing in the Premier League, although only a few rounds have passed, the team's overall strength is clearly inferior to that of other Premier League teams, which is obvious.

This is mainly due to the Bridgeford Group's reluctance to invest heavily. After taking over last year, they spent over a million pounds to bring in several talented players. Now that they have been promoted to the Premier League, there have been rumors that they want to sell the team.

There were many interested parties, but the price offered by Bridgeford Group was too high, scaring away many interested buyers.

£1500 million, a full £850 million increase from the £650 million they offered to acquire the team last year, representing a 76.5% increase.

Even including Bridgeford Group's investments in player acquisition, operations, and maintenance, its total investment would not exceed £1000 million.

A net profit of at least £500 million within a year—such a premium is unacceptable to potential acquirers.

So what if we get promoted to the Premier League?

The Premier League in this era is not worth 500 million pounds.

With that money, you could buy a League One team; £500 million could completely change the team's positions.

So no matter how much the media lamented, the fans didn't have much objection.

In the eyes of these fans, if the team doesn't receive more funding, it will likely remain in League One for a long time.

The terms offered by Ernst Asset Management to Manchester United have made fans all over England drool, and they hope that the new owners will be just as generous.

Even if it's bad, can it be worse than the current Bridgeford Group?

While the media was still lamenting the ongoing acquisition rumors surrounding Nottingham Forest, two days later, on October 26th, The Daily Telegraph...

Another major announcement has been made.

An investment firm from Boston, USA, has initiated takeover negotiations for Southampton Football Club, faster than Nottingham Forest.

However, unlike Norham Forest's single-capital holding model, Southampton's equity structure is much more complex, jointly controlled by a capital alliance of a group of joint investors, with shares dispersed among multiple individuals and institutions.

So even though Boston Investment Company has entered the negotiation stage, if it wants to fully control Southampton, it must convince the vast majority of shareholders to agree to the sale. This not only means that it must offer an offer that no shareholder can refuse, but also involves other factors.

So this acquisition won't be quick. Nottingham Forest might change hands before anything happens here.

However, it's not necessarily a matter of taking a controlling stake. Many media outlets believe that Boston's acquisition of Southampton is more of an investment than an attempt to control the entire team. After all, Southampton's youth academy is highly regarded in England, which means that even if Southampton is relegated, it will still generate a substantial income every year from its youth development program, making it a highly desirable asset in the eyes of investors.

The Guardian analyzed that "Boston Capital is interested in the sustainable profitability of Southampton's youth academy. For investment institutions that pursue long-term returns, youth training is like a money-printing machine. As long as it continues to produce high-quality players, it can guarantee a stable cash flow."

This is also why Southampton is so much more expensive than Nottingham Forest, by more than £2400 million.

In late October, Fleet Street's attention once again focused on Manchester.

Sky Sports reports that the takeover of Manchester United has entered its final stage, with Ernst Asset Management and the Manchester United board having essentially reached an agreement, and the century-old club is about to officially change hands.

The news caused an uproar throughout English football.

Whether or not they are Manchester United fans, everyone is paying close attention to this acquisition.

After all, a transfer fee of £100 million over three years is enough to change a lot of things and affect the entire Premier League.

In addition to the Manchester United takeover bid, Sky Sports has also dropped another bombshell: Premier League club Wimbledon is also in talks with American investors.

Suddenly, news of foreign capital's massive incursion into the English Premier League flooded the media. From London to Manchester, from Liverpool to Southampton, the entire English league was swept up in the tide of capital.

The English Football League, a league known for its tradition and purity, has suddenly become a hot commodity pursued by foreign capital.

This wave of takeovers sweeping the English Premier League has not only shaken the English football world, but has also attracted great attention from the global financial community, including Wall Street financial giants.

At Goldman Sachs' headquarters in Manhattan, New York, Paulson listened intently to a special briefing on the current wave of sports acquisitions.

"According to our investigation, the capital currently involved in acquiring Premier League teams mainly comes from the Boston area, including several well-known investment companies and private equity funds. In addition, some Asian and Middle Eastern capital has also gotten involved."

Paulson sat behind his large desk, his fingers gently stroking his chin, lost in thought.

The collective action of the Boston consortium is by no means accidental. Considering Ernst Asset Management's ongoing takeover bid for Manchester United, there must be some connection behind it.

Moreover, the Boston consortium has always been cautious, even conservative, in its investments. They would never have poured into the English Premier League so intensively if they hadn't seen clear prospects for profit.

Paulson thought to himself, "Could it be that the sports industry, especially the Premier League, is about to experience some kind of sudden, major opportunity?"

But he quickly dismissed the idea himself. The commercial value of football leagues has always grown gradually, relying on long-term accumulation such as broadcasting rights negotiations and commercial sponsorship expansion. Explosive growth is impossible.

He was completely baffled and wanted to know what Ernst had seen. Was it merely a simple financial investment?

However, there was too much capital pouring into the Premier League from Boston, and he didn't believe it was just a simple investment; there must be something more to it.

Unable to figure it out, Paulson gave up and asked, "Is there any other news?"

The secretary shook her head and said helplessly, "We have used all available channels, but we have not obtained any valuable information regarding the specific use of funds by Ernst Asset Management."

Paulson's face immediately darkened. What he was really concerned about was neither the Premier League's acquisition spree nor the future prospects of the sports industry.

What he really wanted to figure out was the flow of funds at Ernst Asset Management.

What Ernst was most concerned about was where the huge sum of money he had borrowed from major Wall Street banks four months ago had gone.

Although he did not have specific figures, he was certain that Ernst's loan amounted to more than five billion dollars.

Shorting Wall Street?

According to a previous announcement by Ernst Asset Management, the stocks of major Wall Street financial giants have reached high levels, and a cautious buy rating has been given.

At the time, financial stocks were soaring, and many people were mocking the announcement.

But looking at it now, the entire financial sector has fallen by more than 15% in the past three months.

Although it wasn't an avalanche, it was still a significant drop, and at that time, Ernst Asset Management's report was unearthed.

What truly brought this emerging financial company into the public eye was its prediction of e-commerce.

At the end of August, Ernst Asset Management predicted that total e-commerce sales this year would exceed $70 billion.

At the time, no one believed it; they all thought its prediction was insane.

Keep in mind that when the forecast was made, there were still four months left in the year, and total e-commerce sales had not yet exceeded one billion US dollars.

But looking at it now...

They're not crazy, they're just too conservative.

$70 billion? Flash sales can generate that kind of sales in less than half a month now.

All these events have shown that Paulson has no choice but to treat this company with caution.

Although Ernst Asset Management shorted Wall Street, the amount invested was definitely no more than two billion dollars.

Where did the rest of the money go?

This is what Paulson wants to know.

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