Timeline emerges for Sheffield Wednesday takeover bids - Mike Ashley and David Storch are involved | OneFootball

Sheffield Wednesday are open to new takeover offers after James Bord's bid to buy the club collapsed

Sheffield Wednesday are stuck in takeover limbo following the collapse of James Bord’s attempt to buy the club.

The former poker player put together a consortium that had been named the preferred bidder in December, two months after the Owls went into administration.

Begbies Traynor have overseen the negotiating process since October, and they will now begin work on finding a new buyer to step forward and take over the Championship side.

Dejphon Chansiri was the owner of Sheffield Wednesday, having bought the team in 2015, but the Thai businessman’s financial mismanagement over the last couple of years has led to a lot of turmoil.

Supporters will be keen to see someone step forward and buy the Yorkshire outfit, with Henrik Pedersen’s side already officially relegated to League One.

Failure to find a buyer leaves the club at risk of liquidation, although it’s been reported that there is enough money available to finance the remainder of the current campaign.

Sheffield Wednesday takeover latest

It has been reported by The Irish Times that new bids to buy Sheffield Wednesday are expected by Friday.

It’s believed that Mike Ashley and David Storch are the two front-runners in the race to purchase the Championship side.

Both parties were linked with a takeover prior to Bord’s consortium being named the preferred bidder.

It was claimed that Bord offered £47.8 million to buy the Yorkshire outfit prior to their takeover bid collapsing.

Begbies Traynor will be hoping to conclude takeover talks as quickly as possible in order for the club to get itself sorted ahead of their return to League One for next season.

It was previously reported that Ashley made an offer of around £20 million to buy Sheffield Wednesday, but this was below the £30 million asking price.

The 61-year-old is the former owner of Newcastle United, and it’s understood that executive staff from his company Frasers Group are handling his interest in the Owls.

Meanwhile, Storch is the founder of investment firm Arise Capital Partners, and this is his second attempt to buy a team in the EFL, having been involved in talks to take over Plymouth Argyle, which ultimately proved unsuccessful.

Pedersen’s side are bottom of the Championship table on minus seven points, and have won just one game all season.

Next up for the Owls is a trip to face Derby County on 7 March in a 3pm kick-off.

The sooner a takeover can happen the better for Sheffield Wednesday

Whether it is Ashley or Storch buying the club, Begbies Traynor will be working to ensure that a takeover can be completed as quickly as possible.

Neither party should endure the wait for ratification from the EFL that the previous bidders went through, which ultimately proved consequential in the collapse of their offer.

Ashley has experience of ownership in English football from his time at Newcastle, but he proved an unpopular figure at St. James’ Park.

However, any person that can save Sheffield Wednesday from their current predicament will naturally earn some favour from supporters, at least initially, given the severity of their decline over the last 12 months.