Adam Shaw issues Sheffield Wednesday takeover update amid “constructive” talks
Adam Shaw, the co-leader of the Florida-based consortium hoping to buy Sheffield Wednesday, has provided a promising update on their mission to become the club’s new owners.
Most of the noise surrounding Hillsborough in recent weeks has been negative.
The public pining from the American group who want to take over Wednesday, and therefore get Dejphon Chansiri out of the club, provided some potential light at the end of the tunnel, but they have appeared to be frustrated with the process that they have so far been through with the Thai businessman.
Shaw, a Wednesday supporter who now lives in the States and is one of the main figures in the consortium, recently told The Athletic of the bold plans he has for his hometown club should he become one of the owners.
Getting to that point, though, has been tougher than expected. He revealed that Chansiri has turned down offers of £48 million and £55 million.
The man that sold the club to Chansiri in 2015, Milan Mandaric, is set to get involved in the messy situation. He told BBC Radio Sheffield that he is going to come over to London to try and help broker a sale before the current chairman “destroys the club”.
Adam Shaw puts out hopeful Sheffield Wednesday takeover message
Prior to the Serbian’s interview, Shaw was set to speak to the Wednesday ‘Til I Die podcast, but it has been put on hold because of Mandaric’s recent radio appearance.
In the meantime, the Sheffield-born businessman has released an encouraging statement via the podcast, suggesting that the sale may be moving in a better direction. They also welcome the former owner’s involvement in trying to get Chansiri to sell the club.
“Very recently the landscape surrounding Sheffield Wednesday has changed somewhat in the last week, which I’m sure as fans you can appreciate,” Shaw said.
“We can also confirm that, as the Florida-based US consortium, we are now in constructive open dialogue with the professional London-based law firm that represents the Chansiri family.”
“We hope we’ve now struck the right balance — providing the fans with the transparency you’ve been asking for, while also allowing negotiations to proceed in a discreet and professional manner.”
We’ve had a lot of people asking the question – ‘When is the interview from the Florida-based US consortium going to be released?’ The interview with Adam Shaw was originally arranged prior to Milan Ma
Dejphon Chansiri needs to lower his valuation before any Sheffield Wednesday deal can realistically happen
If nothing else, the fact that the consortium don’t appear to be as frustrated with talks with Chansiri is a big positive. Its other co-leader, John Flanagan, described talks with the Wednesday chairman as “surprising” and “unique”, and not in a particularly positive way.
The sticking point will always be the price if the Thai businessman still holds onto the idea that a nine-figure fee is an appropriate asking price when their city rivals, Sheffield United, were sold for £105 million just half a year on from being in the Premier League.
