Sheffield Wednesday takeover truth emerges on Scandinavian businessman worth $16.9 billion | OneFootball

Anders Holch Povlsen's name has re-emerged in regards to Sheffield Wednesday takeover talk

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Sheffield Wednesday are back to square one in their bid to exit administration, with Begbies Traynor now set to find the best alternative solution to James Bord.

The Stanmore-born entrepreneur and poker player was named as Wednesday’s preferred bidder on Christmas Eve 2025, but after two months of little progress, Bord’s consortium decided to pull out of the running to buy the stricken South Yorkshire outfit.

It has emerged that Bord and his consortium had bid a staggering £47.8 million to see their offer made the preferred one, which was way above the expected £30 million valuation, but new offers are likely to come under the threshold needed to avoid a 15-point deduction in League One next season, given claims that the due diligence done on the finances of the club suggested that Bord’s bid was significantly higher than the club is actually worth.

That is going to bring new and old parties to the fore, with the likes of David Storch and ex-Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley both re-registering their interest - but could a Scandinavian billionaire be Wednesday’s saviour?

Is Anders Holch Povlsen considering a move for Sheffield Wednesday?

During the first bidding process in late 2025 for Sheffield Wednesday, the name of Danish businessman Anders Holch Povlsen emerged as a potential candidate to buy the club.

Just after after that suggestion came to the fore though, it was shut down by The Athletic's Matt Slater, who claimed that Povlsen was not set to make a bid at all for the Owls.

However, the name of the 53-year-old re-emerged via the Sheffield Star on February 26, who claimed that Povlsen could re-ignite his interest with the price point now set to be considerably lower to take the Owls out of the administration process.

In less than 24 hours though, that potential route to a takeover has been effectively shut down.

As reported by the BBC's Dale Johnson, Povlsen will not be renewing his interest in taking over Wednesday, which will likely make the aforementioned Ashley a front-runner to get his hands on Wednesday and Hillsborough.

Anders Holch Povlsen decision likely puts Mike Ashley at Sheffield Wednesday takeover forefront

Worth a gargantuan $16.9 billion (£12.5 billion), as per Forbes, Povlsen is the owner of clothing chain Bestseller, and is the largest shareholder in the well-known fashion retailer ASOS.

He has connections to the United Kingdom via his degree at the Angela Ruskin University, and he's used some of his wealth to become the largest individual private landowner in the United Kingdom, due to a number of purchases in the Scottish Highlands.

Not only that though, but Povlsen is well-versed in football ownership. He has possessed 95.5 per cent of shares in Danish outfit FC Midtjylland since 2023, who won the Danish Superliga in his first year as owner of the club, and he's been linked to a number of clubs in the UK, such as Dundee United and Hibernian.

Sheffield Wednesday though would have been a way into English football for a man who clearly has significant business interests in the country, with ASOS' biggest fulfilment centre in England being in nearby Barnsley.

Despite his name emerging as a potential candidate for Owls ownership though, it looks like Povlsen can once more be dismissed before being seriously considered, which will be a shame for Wednesday fans who were starting to get excited at the possibility of a Scandinavian revolution arriving in S6.

Now, the favouritism is likely going to land at the feet of Mike Ashley, who hasn't been in football since October 2021 when selling Newcastle United to Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and the Reuben Brothers, although he was spotted looking around Reading FC's stadium in 2023, whilst also owning Coventry City's CBS Arena for a period of time.

With the business acumen he possesses, Ashley wouldn't be the worst choice in the world by a long shot, but the excitement of someone as clean-cut and as wealthy as Povlsen made a lot of Sheffield Wednesday fans excited - it appears though that they can now forget about that potential takeover entirely.