Simon Jordan has warned of how Dejphon Chansiri could scupper a Sheffield Wednesday takeover, with the Owls hoping to have a new owner in place by 2026.
Sheffield Wednesday remain in the midst of a takeover process after Dejphon Chansiri placed the club into administration in October, after 10 years in charge at Hillsborough.
The Owls have widespread debt and numerous issues for the next owner to combat, including stadium repairs which could cost upwards of £100million. But the club is fielding a lot of interest from potential buyers nonetheless.
However, Chansiri is still owed at least £15million by Sheffield Wednesday and he’s expected to try and claim that money back before the next owner completes a takeover.
Simon Jordan warns about Dejphon Chansiri as Sheffield Wednesday eye takeover
Speaking on talkSPORT, pundit and former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan was asked whether he thinks SWFC can complete a takeover by the New Year. He said yes, insisting that the administrators will want to push through the takeover as soon as possible, before warming that Chansiri could be the one and only hurdle in the whole process.
Image courtesy of: JASON CAIRNDUFF/REUTERS.
Chansiri poured beyond £100million into the club but it’s understood that he’s owed, right now, £62.5million by the club. However, because of ’25 pence on the pound liability’, Chansiri is only owed 25% of that amount, which is £15.6million.
The Thai businessman will want to claim that back after losing so much of his wealth in SWFC over the years, and Jordan thinks Chansiri could be the man to prolong a takeover at Hillsborough. Jordan said: “From his point of view [the administrators], he’ll want to get his X amount of hundreds of thousands, or millions in administration fees as quickly as possible. So I don’t think there’s any reason why it couldn’t be, but the battle ground will be Chansiri.”
The latest on the Sheffield Wednesday takeover
We’re approaching the administrators’ previous December 5th deadline for naming a preferred bidder. It’s now understood that that deadline will be missed with the administrators now hoping to name a preferred bidder within the first two weeks of the month.
Image courtesy of: PAUL CHILDS/REUTERS.
There are six bidders in the running though it’s been reported that Mike Ashley’s bid for Sheffield Wednesday was rejected, coming in at a lowball number of £20million, with the asking price at £30million. U.S. businessman John McEvoy is in the running, and Ashley too despite his rejected bid, with five formal bids having arrived.
News on the takeover front has been somewhat quiet in December so far. But expect Begbies Traynor to be working relentlessly behind the scenes to get this takeover done and dusted.
That said, Sheffield Wednesday’s 6-point deduction almost certainly condemns them to relegation to League One for next season, adding another unwanted element to the club’s ongoing takeover process.