Another step in Sheffield United takeover bid taken amid hopes long-running saga is close to end
Exc: Sheffield United takeover latest amid hopes that long-running saga may be finally approaching endgame
The long-awaited takeover of Sheffield United is now in the hands on lawyers on both sides of the potential deal amid heightened hope that the saga may be coming to an end at last. The deal dominated the news agenda over the summer following relegation but has not been a straightforward process, with a reshuffle at the consortium looking to take over at Bramall Lane delaying matters.
As The Star revealed recently Tom Page and Dominic Hughes, the English-born, US-based businessmen fronting the deal to buy the Blades, are no longer involved, with their majority investor - later unmasked by Bloomberg in the US as Ohio native Steven Rosen - taking centre stage in the negotiations. The decision to proceed without Page and Hughes, described as amicable by a source, was taken towards the back end of last month, we understand.
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Rosen has a wide-ranging portfolio of business interests through his Resilience Capital Partners investment fund but sought to expand into English football by fronting the majority of the money to initially help fund the Page and Hughes-fronted bid. Rosen has been briefed in detail about both the Blades and Sheffield as a city, seeing similarities with his native Ohio in terms of its working-class, blue-collar standing and heritage.
Rosen and his partner have agreed to match the price previously agreed to buy the Blades from current owner Prince Abdullah, said by sources to be in the ballpark region of £100m. Although both parties are reluctant to get too carried away, having seen the deal stall several times after initial hopes that it would be concluded before the summer transfer window closed, further progress is understood to have been made since the start of this month.
Then, we revealed that the deal had been delayed by the EFL demanding a personal guarantee that any potential financial shortfall United may encounter, if they don’t get promoted this season, would be covered before they sanctioned any change of control at Bramall Lane. An associate of Rosen then attended United’s 2-0 win over Luton Town just before the international break, which was interpreted as another sign of progress.