UNDER-fire Saints' directors have defended their decision to reject a massive take-over bid by a London finance house.

Their move comes in the wake of a report in a Rugby League publication this week that offers by two multi-billion dollar companies had been rejected by the club.

In a specially-convened meeting of the board and press, vice-chairman Howard Morris, acting for indisposed chairman Tom Ellard, said: "A confidentiality clause was agreed upon by both parties at the first approach, and this has obviously been broken.

"The initial bid of £18 per share for the 7,001 needed to take a controlling interest in Saints would mean we would be selling out for £126,000.

"An increased offer of £35 per share would accrue only £245,000, while a bench-mark figure of £125 per share would net just £875,000 for a club which is conservatively valued at around £4million. "So it is obvious that Saints would be handing over control for peanuts, and we are not prepared to do this because we have a legal responsibility to Saints' shareholders, along with supporters, the town, and to ourselves as directors.

"The board will always act in the best interests of the club, and it is vital that any potential buyer of Saints also has the necessary capital to take the club forward into the 21st century.

"That was our stance at the annual meeting in February, and I can only reiterate that the board would be ready stand aside if a suitable investor came along, but we must be absolutely certain that what was on offer was in the best interests of Saints.

"Finally, I can assure supporters that we are exploring several avenues of possible investment, some as far afield as Hong Kong, and the search will be stepped up even further," added Mr Morris

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.