In today's hard copy Mercury, there's a sidebar profile of Amanpour (not sure if it's in the e-version linked in post #1 in this thread). Here's what it says about his profession: Profession: Founder of First Portfolio Mortgage Planners and Bankers. He is converting a traditional mortgage brokerage to a company that provides proprietary software for other brokers and real estate agents. So, yes, his goal is apparently to convert his business to becoming a software and services provider. At least I can see how mjlee22 came to that conclusion.
Comcast lost huge money as one of the biggest investors in WUSA. I don't think they're looking for more soccer investments.
OK, thanks, that's pretty clear. I would just have to take issue, then, with the idea (from mjlee22) that people planning on converting from a non-software based business to a software business never actually do it, or are just hiding the fact that they have nothing to do. I'm sure there are many counter-examples. Also, if he's really planning on being a co-owner / investor for the Quakes, I would think he'd want to concentrate on that rather than starting a new business. Of course it'd be much better if he actually owned an existing thriving business. But we also don't know how much money he's actually already accumulated.
Well, my understanding is that this was already the tentative plan for '05, and it all hinges on significant progress, if not a deal for an SSS by around 6/05, not only for AEG to sell to his group but also for his group to commit the additional funds as well. I don't think there was a plan for him to commit $50-100mm at this point.
Having been an enterprise software startup for four years, I have seen this internal optimism before. It's great when things are going well and drives you nuts when things come crashing down. Reading between the lines, he appears to be struggling on "what to do next" after the failure of his current business. Not a good sign... Also, having business experience doesn't necessarily carry over to another industry such as sports entertainment. Yes, he may have busines savy, but I don't see him being the cure for the long term. No one quoted in the article stated that Amanpour had the qualities to do this deal. Frankly, I don't expect much will occur from his effort. I will have to continue to believe in the other unknown options that SSV are going after. Also, whether we like the end result or timing, we need to give SJ Mercury credit for going into more detail about Amanpour. Not enough detail were known before. Good intentions won't get this done... It's rally time folks because time is running out!
Frankly, if it weren't for the optimistic words from Tonyh01 in this thread, I'd have to come to the conclusion that it's all over for the Quakes in San jose. But his words do give me hope. I just keep remembering how, when Amanpour showed up and started talking, AEG/Blackmun/Lalas/MLS (at least one of them) kept saying that though they are looking forward to getting that letter of intent from him, they would still keep negotiating with other buyers. I still get the feeling that San Antonio is very major in the picture, what with their mayor visiting the Home Depot Center with Lalas (even after Amanpour was in the picture). San Antonio is holding a big friendly next week. It was mentioned AEG would most likely move the team to San Antonio if they were going to keep operating it. And now with Blackmun stating in this recent article that "I never said that" about keeping the Earthquakes in San Jose for 2005 no matter what, it just leaves me to believe that things are very shaky indeed. Though many might think it's too late to move a team and give it a go in a new setting for next season, I'm not so sure (with the continued negotiations that have obviously been happening) it's out of the picture. In fact, I could envision a "move in the middle of the night" type of deal. Or the other scenario that I hadn't even considered, frankly, and that of folding the team entirely. I shudder at the thought. What I do see is MLS gulping real hard now with the Earthquakes up by 2 goals going in to KC this weekend. I have a feeling it's really going to mess with them should the Quakes win out and go on to hoist the Cup again...which they have to know is a REAL possibility. Wonder what the officiating is going to look like in the(se) remaining games? (Not that I really believe that anything shady would go on, but it is a thought.)
A friend's guess is that Tony is only worth $10-20m. If 20 of his 50 investors are worth less than that, then his investor group could have trouble covering $10m in annual losses. E.g., if you are worth $10m, maybe you are willing to lose $200,000 per year for the cachet of owning a professional sports franchise. 50 x 200,000 = $10m. And that doesn't include contributing to a stadium ($50-100m?). Those 50 investors would not be a good source for stadium money, cuz they are probably already tapped out. Unless Tony has some really deep pockets in his investor group, then I do not think the MLS would accept them as an owner. And maybe that's the reason for a 1-year trial period... get someone to absorb losses for a year while they look for a real owner and a better site/market. What's interesting is that, if you could afford the negative cash flow and hang on for 10 years, a profitable MLS franchise with stadium rights might be worth $100m in a decade. You could get your money back. The next NFL expansion franchise is expected to cost $1b, which is up from $195m in 1993. NFL teams cost 5-10x more than MLB/NBA/NHL franchises partially because, unlike all the other sports, every NFL franchise is profitable. If pro soccer ever takes off in the US, the MLS strategies (which unfortunately for us includes dumping poor-performing stadium-free markets) will lead current MLS owners to do well on their investment.
What other TA investors have been named? I've been following the newspapers closely on this, but haven't seen any other names mentioned. Can you cite references? Who are other investors in Tony's group?
Re: What other TA investors have been named? I think there are other references, but this article http://www.irankicks.com/ikboard/showthread.php?t=23692 mentions a guy named Pejman Nozad, though admittedly it's not clear from the article if this guy is investing at all or just advising. Toofan Amanpour has chosen Mr. Pejman Nozad as his chief advisor and this past weekend I had a pleasure of meeting both gentlemen in Pejman’s Palo Alto office in Northern California. Pejman Nozad who is a founding partner of the investment company Amidzad is also an international expert on Iranian football. He is an adviser to the legendary Pele and his company Global Sports group, and is the best choice for Mr.Amanpour’s business venture.
Re: What other TA investors have been named? I now have a really bad feeling about Amanpour's attempt. I had feared that SSV would latch on the their best option but that it would not really be a good one and now that seems to have been the case. The man is clearly our friend not enemy so I do not want to over criticize him but he does not have the capital to make this happen plus he is behind in his rent (two sides to every story ... but a terrible sign), is downsizing his business, looked unprofessionally awkward on TV and those photos of that cheap conference room on irankicks.com don't engender much confidence either. AEG now seems to be backpedaling. These are all bad signs on top of the fact that a stadium solution is nowhere in sight. On the positive side I heard he was cousins with the guy from EBay.
Re: What other TA investors have been named? Allow me to answer being that I am a founder of SSV. The above quote is DEAD wrong. SSV have not latched onto Tony Amanpour, and we continue to explore all investment options. The only option the public have heard of is Tony Amanpour because he wanted to go public. Other investors do not wish to be in the public eye at this time. Remember....a very small portion is reported to the press and made public. There is a lot going on that cannot be reported at this time. Please get your facts straight. SSV is very active in obtaining a stadium in both Santa Clara and San Francisco. We have won 2 votes in the city of Santa Clara, and are receiving positive feedback from them. San Francisco continues to be a viable option, and that prospect continues to move forward based on the efforts of SSV.
Re: What other TA investors have been named? Thanks, Tony. We just tend towards Chicken-Little syndrome. Is Tony Soprano one of the would-be investors? Oh, you can't tell me that. Shucks.
Re: What other TA investors have been named? Oh well. Can't have everything. Can't have our cake and eat it too.... Can't.... That's all I can think of to say.
Re: What other TA investors have been named? tonyho1 Thank you for your patience and hard work. It is very much appreciated.
Re: What other TA investors have been named? But obviously, allowing a poor choice to go public has created too much FUD. Even if SSV brings forward better investors, SSV will already have lost credibility with the politicans who need to get the stadium approved. I did some web searching on Tony and Pejman Nozad (the guy in the irankicks.com article), and Pejman's partners at Amidzad. The new bad news is that Tony's company website, www.firstportfolio.com, doesn't even work anymore. OK, maybe that's because he took his servers down when he moved out of the tower... The good news is that IF IF IF the Amidzad partners are in Tony's investor group, they appear to be very wealthy. They have done early stage VC funding for 20 companies, including Paypal. But they also announced a plan for a $100m real estate project in LA, so that might soak up too much of their cash to float the Earthquakes.
Re: What other TA investors have been named? God, that makes me feel better and thanks for reminding us not to believe the papers! It was hard not to feel badly after reading killion's article but to me she would almost rather continue showing all the negative aspects of the sportsworld and our league (even if there's a compliment to us loyal supporters of the quakes) rather than be positive. glad to know she doesn't know any more than the rest of us... I liked someone else's point much earlier in the thread--after our boys in blue win it all again, maybe the league will feel to much pressure to sit by and watch the best team in the league fall by the wayside.
Re: What other TA investors have been named? I doubt it. AEG is the one who presented Amanpour to the politicians as their potential buyer. SSV found him, but if AEG thought he was phony they could have discounted his overtures from the beginning.
Re: What other TA investors have been named? I don't think he's "behind on his rent", just that he's involved in some litigation over his rent payment. This is most likely due to some disagreement with the property owner about the date on which his is no longer required to pay rent. Also I don't think we know that "he does not have the capital to make this happen". He probably doesn't have the capital to fund everything from his own pocket, but he's never planned to do that. We don't know how much capital his investment group is able to offer. Also, I don't think we can even necessarily assume that his business "failed". It may have, or he may have simply decided to do something else. It's not uncommon for an entrepreneur to make a good chunk of cash in one business and then close up shop and do something else. In any case, I don't think he should necessarily be considered a business "failure". He created a company from scratch that grew a lot and presumably did very well for several years. Pierre Omidyar? I doubt it, though Pierre is "French-Iranian". It would be great if Pierre had an interest in investing in soccer (he's a billionare) but I'm not sure he's all that interested in sports. He is very interested in social causes, though. If he could buy into the grand vision of soccer as a tool to promote world peace he might get interested. I did hear that CNN news correspondent Chistine Amanpour was his cousin though I don't know for sure if that's true.
Re: What other TA investors have been named? I'm pretty sure that in the early ebay days, Omidyar forced all employees to take an afternoon break to play soccer. Obviously not the same as fan/ownership interest, but he liked to play.
Re: What other TA investors have been named? Not true at all. SSV cannot control who goes public and who doesn't. Our credibility is not damaged with the politicians. We are in contact with them on a regular basis keeping them informed of everything that is going on....not just the stuff that is reported in the press. We have a VERY solid relationship with the politicians.
Re: What other TA investors have been named? I totally understand how you feel. However, we must keep in mind that a stadium option is very much the same as an investor search. We would be foolish to put all of our eggs in one basket. It's important that SSV continues to keep EVERY option open which we feel is the best approach to keeping the team here.
Re: What other TA investors have been named? I'm worried and I already told you why. Even before you said this bit about San Francisco I thought it might happen....