Exclusive:Who's in, who's out and the chances of a wildcard - Sheffield Wednesday takeover state of play
It’s getting close to crunch time. Final offers for Sheffield Wednesday are expected to be lodged with the club’s administrators on Friday, The Star understands.
The club was put on the market soon after confirmation of the withdrawal of the initial process’ preferred bidders last Wednesday lunchtime and feverish activity has taken place behind the scenes among a handful of interested parties. The Friday deadline is as ever wrapped in caveats - key bidders asked for an extension in the December round of bids and the process was extended for a few days.
As was reported soon after the re-engagement stage, it is thought parties who went deep into proceedings before Christmas have a clear advantage this time around, with both administrators at Begbies Traynor and the bidders themselves having undertaken due diligence that will assist them in an ‘expediated process’. The two that missed out - groups led by former Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley and US businessman David Storch - are generally expected to be the front-runners for the club.
Other parties have expressed an interest this time out but with uncertainty over where the club sits with regard to a points deduction heading into next season, last week Sheffield-born insurance mogul Ryan Howsam told The Star last week that progress from his bid - which at one time also involved former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan - was unlikely. As of Wednesday afternoon, The Star understands no further movement has been made by that group.
That nervousness with regard to the points deduction rests elsewhere also and could stand to temper the level of bids that come in. The Bord consortium that earned preferred bidder status last time out blew other parties out of the water with their shock bid and it is understood to be highly likely that the bid level this time around will not be enough to satisfy the EFL’s regulations around exiting administration. On that basis, the Owls would be liable for a 15-point deduction.
A group involving former Sunderland figure Charlie Methven is believed to have fresh investment behind it but as reported on Tuesday, it is The Star’s understanding that they felt time is against them with regard to being able to play due diligence catch-up on those who went deep into the process last time around. At the time of writing that understanding remains.
Other groups are believed to have made some level of contact but there is little detail available on their interest level. On our understanding as things stand, the likeliest outcome is that Ashley or Storch take the club through a shootout bidding stage. But nothing can be ruled out at a club like Sheffield Wednesday.
The Star can confirm per sources that Tom Costin remains a partner in Storch’s bid after his involvement prior to Christmas. Costin is the co-founder and managing partner of coincidentally-named venture capital firm Owl Ventures and has a holding in Blue Crow Sports Group, a firm with controlling interests in French club Le Havre, Spanish side CD Leganes and Cancun FC in Mexico. Costin is also a board director at Le Havre, a Ligue 1 side.
It is understood to be possible - should their bids land close in number - that the Storch group lodges the highest bid but does not automatically secure preferred bidder status, as administrators factor-in the expected timescales that each bidder would take to clear football authority vetting processes. As was the case previously, should the bids land in similar proximity there could also be a short negotiation period.
Whoever lands preferred bidder status will be subject to stringent authority vetting checks. The EFL’s ODT will pass over the power of passage to new owners to the IFR at the turn into May. Both Ashley and Storch parties are believed to have had some level of exploratory contact as part of their due diligence investigations. The Storch group have had informal discussions with stakeholders in recent weeks to get a better view of the job at hand.
With a new squad to build almost from scratch, pre-season plans to undertake and infrastructure to improve, Wednesday require a new owner sooner rather than later. It’s set to be an interesting few days.