FC Midtjylland owner Anders Holch Povlsen will not take over Sheffield Wednesday, according to a new update on the club’s potential acquisition.
According to an update from the Athletic on Sunday afternoon, the businessman, who is thought to be worth $13.3 billion, will not invest in the Championship club, which is looking for their latest custodian after Dejphon Chansiri’s contentious 10-year reign as owner was all but over when he placed Wednesday into administration on Friday, October 24.
Several high-profile names have been linked to a takeover during Chansiri’s final weeks and months on the Hillsborough board, and even more so after, with the current administrators, Begbies Traynor, intending to make a definitive decision by the end of 2025.
The likes of John Textor, John McEvoy, and former Newcastle United chairman, Mike Ashley, are among those who have never been too far away from headlines concerning fresh investment during that timeframe, with the latter also making a public, yet unsuccessful £20 million bid to take control of the club within the past seven days, with three parties offering at least £30 million themselves – the lowest figure that the trio of Paul Stanley, Julian Pitts, and Kris Wigfield are believed to
Povlsen’s name first emerged ahead of Saturday’s dramatic 3-2 loss to Preston North End in South Yorkshire. However, less than 24 hours after Henrik Pedersen’s team’s latest Championship defeat, the Dane will not be joined by his compatriot in S6.
A new Sheffield Wednesday takeover update has emerged, involving FC Midtjylland owner Anders Holch Povlsen.
The Athletic originally reported Povlsen’s first ‘interest’ in a buyout on Friday, with the entire bidding war said to encompass six companies, while Begbies Traynor want to make their ultimate decision within the next two weeks.
The final reference in the aforementioned story comes after it was first rumored that the chosen bidder’s identity could be revealed as early as Friday, December 5th, albeit this is now called into question.
It was stated that five official bids had been submitted, with another coming shortly. However, no party has emerged as the clear favourite in the aforementioned bidding war.
As a result, it was stated that Povlsen had expressed an initial interest in taking over the Owls, albeit it was unclear whether such developments would result in a formal offer that met the administrators’ expectations.
The 53-year-old, born in the Faroe Islands’ Egvad Municipality, is believed to be Denmark’s richest man, worth $13.3 billion, or £10.05 billion.
Povlsen has been the majority owner of FC Midtjylland since 2023, having purchased the portion previously held by Brentford chairman Matt Benham, increasing his influence over the Danish club to 95 percent.
However, in the most recent of many twists in a potential takeover, Matt Slater of the Athletic disclosed via X on Sunday afternoon that he has no intention of arranging his own takeover and that no initial bid has been made by the Danish tycoon, who is CEO of Bestseller.
Sheffield Wednesday supporters will hope for a speedy conclusion to the takeover crisis.
Although some may view the latest disclosures as a setback, the fact that Povlsen did not submit a bid in the first place should not dampen Wednesdayites’ enthusiasm significantly.
However, those on the terraces will be hoping for a quick resolution to this saga as they look to move forward both on and off the pitch, even though relegation to League One has appeared inevitable for weeks, particularly since the Owls were hit with an automatic 12-point deduction after entering administration just over a month ago.
On the pitch, the free agent signings of Liam Cooper and Nathan Redmond have added experience to a thin squad, and Pedersen is also hoping to extend Harry Amass’ loan spell, with the young Manchester United loanee impressing in his first stint of regular first-team football away from Old Trafford.
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