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A significant milestone in the battle to take control of Sheffield Wednesday will be reached on Friday, with would-be buyers are required to submit their first bids to the club’s administrator, Begbies Traynor.
Sources involved in the process have told The i Paper that since 24 October when Wednesday were placed in administration, informal negotiations have led to 11 interested parties providing proof of funds.
At least two groups have travelled to Sheffield for a tour of Hillsborough, although how many will bid remains to be seen.
One source claimed that of the potential buyers who have been given access to the club’s accounts and data room, three or four are likely to emerge as serious contenders.
Those wishing to bid are required to submit a Letter of Intent – along with details of the source of their funding – to Begbies Traynor. Bids at this stage are not legally binding, so there is an expectation that some will be artificially high.
One of the administrators, Kris Wigfield, told a meeting of Wednesday’s Supporters Engagement Panel earlier this month that a reserve price on the club had been set at around £30m, although given the level of competition, they are hoping to end up with far more.
Who are Wednesday’s potential buyers?
Expected bidders at this stage include former Newcastle owner Mike Ashley, American billionaire John McEvoy, who holds stakes in Denver-based Major League Baseball franchise Colorado Rockies and National Hockey League side Nashville Predators, and an Indonesian group.
The i Paper has been told that another Middle Eastern consortium who were working with a London-based advisory firm have withdrawn from the process, primarily due to the anticipated competitiveness of the auction, as well as concern about Wednesday’s ongoing running costs.
While the sale price will include settling Wednesday’s debts, with the £62.5m owed to Dejphon Chansiri reduced to £15.6m due to the EFL’s football creditors rule which entitle football creditors to 25p in the pound immediately or 35p over three years, other costs are considerable.
With Henrik Pedersen’s side on minus-four points at the bottom of the Championship, relegation to League One has been priced in meaning further losses are inevitable.
What’s the asking price?
Tens of millions of pounds of investment will be required to renovate Hillsborough, which was hit with the temporary close of the North Stand by Sheffield City Council at the start of the season due to safety concerns.
As a result, one source who has been involved in talks over a bid forecast that the real cost of buying Wednesday and keeping the club a going concern for the next three years would reach £100m.
Unlike the purchase of Charlton Athletic by American group Global Football Partners two years ago, Wednesday’s ground will be included in the takeover due to Chansiri’s apparent willingness to walk away from a further £54m of debt.
Having transferred the ownership of Hillsborough to a separate company, Sheffield 3, five years ago, Chansiri handed it over to the administrators with the rest of the club last month. While around £8m in secured debt is owed to New Avenue Projects, who hold a charge over the stadium, Chansiri’s stadium debt is not secured and has been effectively written off.
How the Owls are surviving
With an anonymous benefactor having provided a £1m interest-free loan to the club this week, which must be repaid on the completion of the sale or by 31 January, Wednesday’s short-term financial position is secure.
Having been paid late in five months out of seven up to September, the club’s staff and players have been told they will receive their wages on time in November and December.
After receiving offers tomorrow, Begbies Traynor will spend the next fortnight negotiating with all the bidders, with the aim of conferring preferred bidder status and taking receipt of a deposit by 5 December, when exclusive negotiations will begin. While the administrators have cautioned fans against expecting a quick sale, there is genuine hope that new owners could be in place early in the New Year.