The search for Sheffield Wednesday’s new owner(s) has continued into the last days of November, one month after the Owls were thrown into administration by former chairman Dejphon Chansiri.
The Steel City side has been the subject of numerous headlines and talking points on the takeover front for many weeks and months now, but the current group of administrators, Begbies Traynor, led by Paul Stanley, Julian Pitts, and Kris Wigfield, are hopeful that a long-running search can be concluded between now and the end of the calendar year.
On the football, Henrik Pedersen’s side remains at the bottom of the Championship league after receiving an automatic 12-point deduction for entering administration on October 24th, with the Owls losing 1-0 to play-off contenders Millwall at The Den on Wednesday night.
Next up is a return to Hillsborough, where they will face Preston North End on Saturday afternoon, in the final game before the widely reported deadline of December 5th, when Stanley, Pitts, and Wigfield hope to reveal the identity of Wednesday’s permanent new owner.
However, there have been some extraordinary turns in the tale during the last 48 hours, and Football League World has compiled a list of the important talking points.
Mike Ashley’s unsuccessful £20 million proposal in Sheffield Wednesday takeover battle
Mike Ashley, the former owner of Newcastle United, has been a significant role in Hillsborough takeover talks.
The 61-year-old was apparently identified as one of the ‘last three’ candidates for the post, and he was said to be planning a proposal as low as £10 million at the start of the month due to no concerns about the source of cash he could offer.
It was subsequently claimed on Wednesday that the Walsall-born billionaire, whose last official football connection was selling the CBS Arena to Coventry City for just under £40 million in August, had placed an official £20 million bid in an attempt to lead the bidding queue in S6.
However, Rob Dorsett of Sky Sports has subsequently stated that Ashley’s aforementioned bid was unsuccessful, with three rival parties offering at least £30 million, however the ex-Newcastle chairman may enhance his own figures ahead of next week’s exclusivity deadline.
Likely EFL stance revealed during disputed Sheffield Wednesday-Sheffield United merger talks.
Wednesday endured a devastating 3-0 defeat to Sheffield United in the Steel City Derby at Hillsborough less than seven days ago, thanks to a Tyrese Campbell double and a late goal from Tom Cannon.
However, it has not been the major topic of discussion among supporters of the cross-city rivals this week, with the Telegraph reporting on Tuesday that representatives of the Blades’ American ownership company, COH Sports, had inquired about the potential of joining the bidding war.
Such occurrences prompted many questions, especially when it was later revealed that one of the various interested parties had even proposed merging the two sides, who had battled for form in the early stages of this season’s Championship.
Unsurprisingly, this has sparked even more outrage and debate, though the aforementioned Dorsett was quick to reassure fans at Hillsborough and Bramall Lane that such a contentious set of circumstances would not be approved by the club’s governing body, the EFL, or the newly formed Independent Football Regulator.
“It has been made clear to me that neither the EFL nor the new Football Regulator will accept the notion of Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday merging, regardless of whether this email of inquiry from United’s owners is authentic. SWFC administrators are focusing on more credible bids from overseas,” he stated.
Simon Jordan reveals more details about a potential Sheffield Wednesday takeover.
TalkSPORT’s Simon Jordan, who previously served as Crystal Palace chairman from 2000 to 2010, is one of several analysts who have repeatedly spoken out about the dire situation at Hillsborough.
While the identity of the consortium and other identities involved have yet to be published, the 58-year-old stated on the station’s mid-morning ‘White and Jordan’ show, alongside ex-Sky Sports presenter Jim White, that he was a member of one that looked into saving the Owls from extinction.
“You know, because I spoke to you about it, I put together a consortium of people, very well-hilled people and proved up the £50m to have a look at Sheffield Wednesday,” White heard him say.
“It’s a club I’ve always advocated for, because I believe it’s a big club waiting to happen again if it had proper ownership, direction, and discipline in terms of rebuilding it as a football club.” However, it is heavily questioned.
“The reason why I decided not to go forward with it, is because I don’t like the idea of rewarding Chansiri by having to pay huge parts of the money that he has to get to avoid the EFL regulations of being sanctioned again,” according to him.
“If you don’t pay at least 25p in the pound, then you get another 15-point penalty,” Jordan said to me. “I would be quite delighted to own Sheffield Wednesday and have the 15-point penalty this season – because it makes no difference, and you’re going to be relegated – but not have it the next year.
“That is likely part of Mike Ashley’s thinking. Because, at £20 million, you can’t buy Sheffield Wednesday with Chansiri’s debt to’meet the 25p in the £1′ criterion, much alone the stadium purchase and all that comes with it,” he continued.
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