The deadline for interested parties to submit their initial bids to buy Sheffield Wednesday is approaching on Friday, although an anonymous Middle Eastern firm is not expected to make an offer.
The competition to take over Wednesday has heated up since former owner Dejphon Chansiri placed the club and the firm through which he owned the stadium into administration last month, ending his troubled decade-long stint at Hillsborough.
The Owls were punished 12 points after entering administration, ensuring they will be a League One team next season, although there has been plenty of interest in purchasing the South Yorkshire club.
Former Crystal Palace co-owner John Textor, ex-Newcastle United chief Mike Ashley, and US billionaire John McEvoy have all been linked with a takeover of Wednesday in recent weeks, and up to 11 parties are thought to have provided proof of funds totaling £50 million to the club’s administrators.
Any interested parties must submit their initial bids for the Owls by Friday, and with less than 24 hours until the deadline, further information has been disclosed about who may be poised to table proposals.
Middle Eastern group withdraws from Sheffield Wednesday takeover bid.
Parties intending to bid on Wednesday must submit a Letter of Intent to Wednesday’s administrators by Friday, along with additional information about the source of their funds, however any offers made at this time are not legally enforceable.
According to The Independent, Ashley and McEvoy are expected to be among three or four suitors for the Owls, although a mysterious Middle Eastern consortium has ruled themselves out of contention to take ownership at Hillsborough.
The Middle Eastern group, who were working with a London-based consultancy business, is claimed to have been put off by the anticipated competitiveness of the bidding process, as well as concerns about how much it would cost to run the club in the future years.
Any sale price is expected to include the cost of settling Wednesday’s debts, including the money owed to former owner Chansiri, who will receive only £15.6 million of the £62.5 million owed to him under EFL regulations, which state that creditors are entitled to 25p in the pound immediately or 35p in the pound spread over three years.
However, the cost of a takeover deal will only be the beginning of the Owls’ incoming owner’s spending, with significant renovation work on Hillsborough stadium expected to be one of the largest outlays, and it has been estimated that it will cost around £100 million to keep the club running as a going concern for the next three years, which appears to have deterred the Middle Eastern group from pursuing a deal.
The size of the problem facing new Sheffield Wednesday owners has been revealed following a fresh takeover.
It has long been acknowledged that whomever takes over Wednesday will need significant money, but with the club’s overall operating expenditures likely to approach £100 million over the next three years, the financial burden that any new owner will inherit is becoming evident.
With that in mind, it is unsurprising that some interested parties who have been granted access to the club’s accounts and data room in recent weeks have decided not to make formal offers, but the fact that three or four bids are still expected demonstrates that some wealthy individuals are still eager to acquire the Owls.
Ashley and McEvoy are two of the names anticipated to make offers for Wednesday before Friday’s deadline, and given their substantial wealth and previous sports experience, supporters should be relieved that they are still in the running.
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