[JEFF]

As stated earlier in the thread - Accrington Stanley is a business. It is a business owned by David O'Neill. David O'Neill's business (Accrington Stanley) is in a financial mess. If David O'Neill wants investment in his business to save it from going under, he must give something in return. Look at Dragons's Den - the Dragons invest in return for a percentage of the business. If David O'Neill does not get investment in his business it is likely to go into administration at least, and he will end up with nothing. I am sure that he will be better off owning a percentage of a business worth something than all of a business worth nothing. I don't know how much he paid Eric for the shares but on paper I would imagine that they were worth nothing. The club has very few assets and a debt to Revenue & Customs of over £300K this would probably make the shares worth less than nothing. Nobody is going to GIVE money to help an ailing business, but people may invest in the business if they get something in return.