Sheffield United-linked former poker player in Sheffield Wednesday takeover race - more details
A former professional poker player who has stakes with three European clubs is one of the parties remaining in the process to buy Sheffield Wednesday.
A Sunday report in the Daily Mail named James Bord as a leader of a third party interested in taking over the club out of administration as the process enters its final stages. Previously reported interest from a merged bid of US groups led by John McEvoy and a capital investment group led by the Storch family remain. Amid due diligence undertakings on all sides of the process ahead of a formal offer stage, The Star’s current understanding is that these are the three active parties vying for position.
The Star has reason to believe that former Celtic, Hearts and Sunderland attacker John Colquhoun - now an agent and consultant with a range of business interests who has worked with Bord previously - has been among those assisting in the Bord-led bid. It's believed that as a leader of the bid Bord would likely act as a Wednesday chairman should that group become the club's new owners and that further individuals based in Europe and both sides of the Atlantic are involved in the bid in some form.
Bord’s name may be familiar to Sheffield football followers in that he has acted as a leading consultant on recruitment deals for COH Sports, the owners of Sheffield United, having been brought into the decision-making process at Bramall Lane by United part-owner Joe Russo.
Tottenham Hotspur fan Bord has an AI-led football analytics business Short Circuit Science and holds existing stakes in Scottish club Dunfermline Athletic, Spanish side Cordoba CF and Bulgarian club Septemvri Sofia. He has also previously been linked with interest in acquiring Derby County. Bord is said to divide the bulk of his time between Las Vegas and London.
The Star reported last week that former Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley was among the parties still active in the process and that he was considering an improved offer. It is believed his existing offer is in excess of the £20m earlier reported. Parties involved in the merged US bid have had an existing interest in acquiring Wednesday for some time having been among the number of interested parties to have failed in buying the club from Dejphon Chansiri earlier this year.
With a price point in excess of £30m, it remains to be seen which party is put forward by administrators Begbies Traynor as preferred bidders as the process nears a more final formal offer stage. Alongside the formal offer that presents the best interest for creditors, the decision will also be levelled-against the likelihood of any bidding group passing an EFL vetting stage.