Sheffield Wednesday takeover process to clear one points deduction threat - Walton Penner status crystal clear
Administrators at Sheffield Wednesday are expecting further offers for the club to arrive today, which would bring the number of formal bids in the sales process to ‘six or seven’.
Interested parties have produced bids to buy the club in the last days after a ‘soft deadline’ of November 21 was placed on indicative offers, a milestone designed to inform a negotiation stage of the process that they hope will secure a ‘preferred bidder’ in the first week of December.
It was explained by joint-administrator Kris Wigfield last week that offers that land beyond that deadline will be considered and speaking over the weekend, he confirmed that after conversations with interested parties had indicated bids were anticipated today.
It was also confirmed that the strength of offers they had received were enough to satisfy the creditors the club owes on, which had been understood to sit at somewhere close to the region of £30m. Should a bid of that nature be realised and payments upheld, that would mean the club would not be liable for the 15-point deduction for next season that supporters have been fearful of.
Wednesday are operating on a 12-point deduction and two possible further points deductions for breaches of EFL regulations remain - though these are understood to be set to be taken from this season’s tally.
Speaking to BBC Sheffield ahead of the Owls’ 3-0 derby defeat to Sheffield United, lifelong Wednesdayite Wigfield said: “We’ve had offers, we’ve had good offers as well. We’re expecting two more offers to come in on Monday and then we’ll be at a stage where we’re trying to get from the point where got six or seven parties that have made offers - to move that towards one preferred bidder. At the moment, as administrators, we’re optimistic because we’ve seen the level of bids coming in.
“These are going to mean we can fulfil our duties to hit the 25 pence to the pound to the creditors, which will mean the club will not hit any further sanctions. Furthermore, as a Wednesday fan, I’m excited by the people behind those bids.”
Alongside the strides taken in repairing supporter relationship with the club and in terms of ‘small win’ structural changes, with help from supporters with expertise in different fields, administrators have produced a report around short-term and medium-term fixes that can assist the club going forward. The report is being put together with a view to allowing the next owners a platform to hit the ground running.
The club’s administrators have made clear throughout the process that they are categorically unable to comment on the identities of parties that are operating within the bidding process, but amid continued rumour online that the US-based Walton-Penner group are making moves for the acquisition of Wednesday, Wigfield confirmed in no uncertain terms that they are not one of those parties.
“Obviously I don’t want to speculate on individual buyers, but this one has had so much attention that I think it’s only right just to tell the fanbase it’s got absolutely no foundation whatsoever,” he said. “The club as far as I can see has never had any contact from that family and we certainly as administrators never have.
“I just want to kill that one really, because whoever comes in and buys it has got a difficult PR issue with the fans because matching-up to one of the 10 wealthiest families in the world is going to be difficult for anybody. There is absolutely no foundation in that rumour whatsoever.”