GOOD NEWS:
Leicester City's board of directors are backing tycoon Milan Mandaric in his £25m takeover bid for the club. The recommendation, which was agreed at a special board meeting last night, will be put to the extraordinary general meeting of shareholders later today.
The meeting of the 48 shareholders is being held before this afternoon's clash with Preston at the Walkers Stadium.
This is the positive step that the fans have been waiting to see.
Legal technicalities mean that today's EGM cannot make the final decision on the offer, but the board have made their position clear.
One board member told me: "We felt it was about time we took the lead in this. The shareholders elected us on to the board to make decisions and act in what we feel are the best interests of the club."
This endorsement of the Mandaric deal is a significant step - the 10 members of the board hold around a third of all the shares.
It will now be up to the other shareholders to fall in line behind the board, or jeopardise the whole deal by going against the recommendation.
The key to the deal is the level of shareholder support for the offer. If 90 per cent of them agree, Mandaric can then compulsorily purchase the remaining 10 per cent of shares from reluctant stakeholders.
Anything less than that, even with a controlling interest, would need further negotiation.
I understand that, unless Mandaric is assured of that 90 per cent in favour from today's meeting, he will pull out of the deal.
So while today's lunch-time meeting is not the final word, it is very much make-or-break.
A green light for the offer means that the matter moves into the hands of each side's legal teams with Mandaric's experts going through City's finances. Then, if all is well, it would just be a matter of completing all the complex legal formalities.
Although the whole issue does seem to have dragged on, the takeover could still happen in time for Mandaric to back Leicester City manager Robert Kelly in the transfer window in January.
The club will issue a statement after today's meeting so that City fans at the game should know exactly where the club stands on the issue.
The overwhelming majority of the Blue Army seem very much in favour.
It remains to be seen if the shareholders feel the same as the fans and the board.
