Sheffield Wednesday takeover timeline - Expert says when 'quickest deal' could happen | OneFootball

Sheffield Wednesday are seeking a new preferred bidder following the collapse of James Bord's offer

Sheffield Wednesday remain in takeover limbo following the collapse of James Bord’s offer to buy the club.

The 45-year-old led a consortium that was named as the preferred bidder to take over the Owls back in December, but the deal fell through last month.

The Yorkshire outfit have been in administration since October, leading to a lot of uncertainty behind the scenes.

Henrik Pedersen’s side have already had their relegation to League One confirmed in what has been a disastrous last 12 months at Hillsborough.

The club have been deducted 18 points by the EFL this season as a consequence of their administration, along with financial rule breaches.

Sheffield Wednesday will be keen to find a new prospective buyer following the collapse of Bord’s offer, particularly as they will want to begin planning for life in League One as quickly as possible.

Sheffield Wednesday takeover timeline according to Stefan Borson

Football finance expert Stefan Borson has claimed that it will take at least four weeks, even at the quickest possible timescale, to get any kind of deal agreed, with time now of the essence.

While the Owls have suggested they have enough money to the end of the campaign, he believes that the Championship side could be quite cash-strapped beyond that period, which emphasises the importance of finding a new preferred buyer as quickly as possible.

“There’s an urgency,” said Borson, via Football Insider.

“I mean, the administrators have said publicly that they’ve got enough money to get to the end of the season.

“Of course, the implicit statement there is that beyond the end of season, they don’t have enough money, and that’s the challenge, so the clock is ticking.

“We are in March.

“Even the quickest deal is going to take let’s say four weeks, so you’re going to at least the beginning of April, even the quickest.

“There’s very little leeway for an elongated process.

“I think what’s going to happen now is that any bidder who has got any kind of issue getting through an owners’ and directors’ test is basically out.

“I don’t think the administrator could take any risk now of going through with another party, no matter how much they were putting on the table frankly, that was then going to be rejected.”

There were concerns surrounding Bord’s bid to buy the club, particularly in relation to the EFL’s Owners and Directors’ test, although we’ll never know now whether he would’ve passed.

His background in gambling and crypto raised some uncertainty over whether the EFL would accept him as an owner of one of their clubs.

However, it was reported that their offer was as much as £47.8 million, which far exceeded any other offer on the table for Sheffield Wednesday.

It’s believed that the Yorkshire outfit received £4 million as part of that agreement, which has helped to provide the cash needed to oversee the end of the campaign.

Pedersen’s side are bottom of the Championship table on minus seven points.

The Owls have won just one of their 35 fixtures, and have lost their last 12 league games in a row.

Next up for Sheffield Wednesday is a trip to face Derby County on 7 March in a 3pm kick-off at Pride Park.

Sheffield Wednesday need a swift takeover resolution

This has dragged on now for months, and Sheffield Wednesday literally cannot afford for it to go on much longer, or else they will run out of money.

At that point, it will not be about preparing for life in League One, but instead potentially the future of the club could be at stake.

Pedersen and the squad have persisted through this period with a lot of credit, even if results on the pitch have been a disaster, and supporters deserve a resolution that can save their team.

It is now March, so the administrators essentially have two or maybe three months to find a buyer, and focusing on someone that will fly through the EFL’s tests may be the smarter avenue to take at this time.