THAILAND/FILE: Manchester City backs 162.6 million U.S. dollar bid from former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra

Record ID: 722176

  • Title: THAILAND/FILE: Manchester City backs 162.6 million U.S. dollar bid from former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra
  • Date: 21st June 2007
  • Summary: (BN10) BANGKOK, THAILAND (JUNE 21) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHRISTOPHER BRUTON, ANALYST, SAYING: "He might be arrested and he might have to put up bail which would be embarrassing for him. So I think there are quite a number of reasons why he would not want to come back but on the other hand he protests his innocence and if he really can substantiate that then why should he not come back?"
  • Embargoed: 6th July 2007 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: Domestic Politics,Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA3SRW0O9YZCPYDNZGXGHAJBR3D
  • Story Text: Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's 162.6 million U.S. dollar takeover bid for British football team, Manchester City, has the backing of the club.
    Manchester City said on Thursday (June 21) that the Premier League club were backing an 81.6 million pound (162.6 million U.S. dollar) takeover bid led by ousted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
    City said its board intended to recommend the bid from UK Sports Investments, a vehicle indirectly controlled by Thaksin and his son and daughter, Panthongtae and Pinthongta Shinawatra.
    The move came hours after Thaksin, who has been based in London since being ousted in a bloodless coup last September, was formally charged by Thai state prosecutors with "official misconduct" over a property deal involving his wife.
    The charges stem from a ruling by an Asset Examination Committee (AEC) set up after the coup that Thaksin and his wife, Pojaman, broke anti-graft laws preventing politicians in office doing business deals with state agencies.
    The current prime minister has said that Thaksin is free to return, but it is unclear if the military supports this and last week the coup leader said there was a possibility he could be assassinated if he does.
    "We are not prohibiting him coming back. He has the right to come back. I am not afraid of him coming back but we have to ask Thaksin whether he's afraid of anything," Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said at a news conference earlier this week.
    In a taped address to thousands of supporters at a rally in Bangkok last week, Thaksin said he was "ready to come back to fight for his good name" but did not say when he might return.
    "He might be arrested and he might have to put up bail which would be embarrassing for him. So I think there are quite a number of reasons why he would not want to come back but on the other hand he protests his innocence and if he really can substantiate that then why should he not come back?" said Christopher Bruton, an analyst with Dataconsult in Bangkok.
    "I think there's a fairly good chance that he will come back because if he doesn't, then as I say, the supposition will be that he has something to hide and if you feel that you are in the right then you have every reason to want to come back and there is the added advantage of being able to rally your supporters," Bruton added.
    Thursday's charges follows a court ruling last month banning Thai Rak Thai, the party Thaksin built up and the first to win a landslide victory in Thai history. Over a hundred leading party members, including Thaksin, were also banned from politics for five years.
    "We the Thai people shouldn't just lie down and take some robbers who would rob our house and just say 'well this is business as usual'. Thai people are no longer saying that, they are saying if you rob my house I'll stay put a while and if I gather enough people, I'll take my house back," said Jakrapob Penkhae, one of the banned Thai Rak Thai members said at a pro-Thaksin rally last week.
    The 81.6 million price tag for City includes 40 pence each for the club's shares and 60 million pounds of debt. UK Sports Investments currently controls around 56 percent of the shares.
    awa/jrc
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