Yet another offer has come in for Melbourne Heart’s A-League license, this time from an unnamed Chinese businessman based in Shanghai. According to the Herald Sun, Heart CEO Scott Munn rejected an offer of AUS $9 million for a 100% stake in the Melbourne club. The bid was higher than the most recent South Melbourne FC bid, which amounted to AUS $7 million during the A-League offseason. The Chinese offer would have left the club’s colors and name in place while simply shifting complete ownership from the current board.
Melbourne Heart turn down Chinese offer
A reported AUS $9 million offer was rejected by Scott Munn and the Melbourne Heart board despite continuing financial and on-field struggles.
Munn has maintained that the club is not for sale and that the board is not entertaining offers, even if they come in from within Australia or from abroad. With the club turning a slight profit, according to the board after last season, Heart executives have been free to examine but not be desperate with any incoming offers. Though it should be pointed out that various club officials put as much as AUS $1.5 million of their own money into the club during the poor 2012/13 season. Presumably the club’s profit comes from television revenue, as gate receipts are surely not the answer in this case.
Heart have now gone eleven games over two seasons without a win, including nine losses and two draws dating to February 24. With average attendance hovering near 8500 again, things simply aren't getting any better for the fourth year club. And with star players Harry Kewell and Orlando Engelaar sidelined for much of this season so far, high profile help has been hard to come by.
Despite all the woes on Yarraside, Munn reiterated that the board is strongly in favor of keeping manager John Aloisi in his current position for the remainder of his contract that runs through the 2014/15 season. That may have more to do with not wanting to, or not being able to pay out the balance of his deal, but the fact seems to remain that no matter how loud the boos get at AAMI Park, Heart will not be making a managerial change any time soon.
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