THE Sheffield Wednesday takeover saga has taken a new twist after fans group 'Wednesdayite' raised concerns about the validity of an offer for club shares.
The group, which owns a 10 per cent stake in the Championship club, will delay balloting its members over the sale until lawyers can confirm that a bid, lodged by the Lancashire-based businessman Geoff Sheard, is shown to be legal under UK law.
Fo
rmer Owls chairman Dave Allen has already agreed to sell his 10 per cent stake in the club to Sheard while former director Keith Addy and director Geoff Hulley are still considering offers to sell their 10 per cent stakes.
Sheard, who is the front man for a mystery consortium, requires a 30 per cent stake to take control at Hillsborough and would then be obliged, under the Takeover Code, to make an offer for the remaining 70 per cent.
In a statement, a Wednesdayite spokesman said: "We completely share the anxiety of our members and fans in wanting to seek an early resolution to the recent bid for our shareholding in Sheffield Wednesday Plc.
"We and our lawyers have been in regular contact with the bidder and his representatives to try to get confirmation that the bid is a verified offer under UK laws and regulations.
"We have absolutely no desire to delay any ballot – we are fans just like everyone else," he stressed. "But we have no choice other than to act responsibly in terms of the independent legal advice we have received."
See Saturday's Yorkshire Post for full story.The full article contains 266 words and appears in n/a newspaper.
