A consortium led by James Bord, owner of Scottish club Dunfermline Athletic, has been named as the preferred bidder to purchase Championship club Sheffield Wednesday.
Bord, 44, was selected over a group led by the Chicago-based Storch family and former Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley.
Wednesday were placed in administration by their owner, Thai businessman Dejphon Chansiri, on October 24, following months of steady decline.
The club confirmed earlier on Wednesday that administrators, Manchester-based firm Begbies Traynor, intended to grant preferred bidder status to a consortium following the conclusion of the initial bidding process.
Any takeover will have to be approved by the EFL and pass the owners’ and directors’ test. There is no timescale for the process.
In a statement, joint administrator Paul Stanley said: “From a financial perspective, the proposed financial offer from the preferred bidder provides certainty for the club. The consortium we intend to progress with has submitted the strongest overall proposal for the club.
“This includes: A fully funded offer, clear financial assurances to support the club’s trading requirements, a structure that allows all creditor obligations to be dealt with in accordance with EFL rules, meaning no further sporting sanctions are anticipated as part of the transaction.”
Bord’s camp declined to comment when contacted by The Athletic.
Bord is a former professional poker player who founded his own consultancy called Short Circuit Science in 2016, which focuses on climate change, pharmaceuticals and sport. Short Circuit have advised Wednesday’s rivals Sheffield United and Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur.
The concept of football ownership is not new to Bord. He was part of a group of U.S.-based investors who purchased a 37 per cent stake in Spanish second-tier team Cordoba last year and then bought a 25 per cent share of Bulgarian side Septemvri Sofia, before taking over Dunfermline in January.
“I bought Dunfermline because I love the underdog,” Bord told The Athletic earlier this year.
“The ambition is to bring back some of their history but also to change the atmosphere at the club. Optimism. They are a very passionate fanbase that has suffered enough pain and we’d like to bring them some joy.”
Dunfermline are currently sixth in the 10-team Scottish Championship. Among the moves made this year former Celtic boss Neil Lennon was hired as manager and former Celtic, Southampton and Tottenham midfielder Victor Wanyama was signed on a short-term contract.
Begbies Traynor were appointed by Chansiri after the club failed to pay wages on time in five of the six previous months prior to entering administration and had been served a winding-up petition from HMRC, relating to unpaid taxes which totaled £1million ($1.33m).
Wednesday fans protest against Chansiri in January (George Wood/Getty Images)
Wednesday have been deducted 18 points as a result of their financial regulation breaches and are on -9 points at the bottom of the Championship, 30 points from safety and with just one win in their 21 games.
If Bord’s consortium are unwilling to pay off all of the club’s secured debt and a quarter of its unsecured debt, Wednesday will be served with a 15-point penalty next season, when they will almost certainly be in League One.
The club’s accounts indicate that in the region of £115m is owed to Chansiri in the form of loans. His legal team began a search process at the end of last season which failed to secure new ownership.
The EFL imposed an embargo on Wednesday after breaching several regulations relating to payments to HMRC, football creditors and a another club.
Wednesday’s first game after being placed in administration was a home fixture against Oxford United on October 25. Crowd numbers at Hillsborough had been low throughout the season though 27,261 were in attendance for the 2-1 defeat.