No Cats return on the cards for Quinn
NIALL Quinn is now not understood to be interested in a Sunderland return, but is instead helping an Irish-based consortium in their attempts to buy the Wearside club.
Reports had suggested that Quinn himself was interested in leading a consortium to buy Ellis Short out of the club, much like he did Sir Bob Murray back in 2006.
But it now appears that Quinn’s role is merely advisory after being contacted by a consortium interested in buying the club.
Contrary to earlier reports, he is unlikely to be involved at the club again if the takeover went through and he is yet to speak to Sunderland about the interest.
It is understood that the Irishbased consortium spoke to Quinn for advice because of his connections to the Stadium of Light club.
Quinn is thought to be helping the consortium in their attempts to buy the club, but no formal discussions with owner Short have taken place yet. The consortium is understood to be one of a number of interested parties, with Short thought to be willing to offload on the cheap. It is not believed that any of the interested parties have opened formal discussions with Short or chief executive Martin Bain. The next step for any potential buyer is to contact the club about their interest. It would not be essential but it is expected any potential buyer would then look to enter a period of due diligence by which they have chance to pore over the books to determine the exact assets and liabilities the Black Cats have. Once this process has been completed, the potential buyers can then make an educated business decision on whether to pursue purchasing the club. A non-disclosure agreement will have to be signed too, to ensure any of the information revealed from the investigation is not leaked to a third party.
It is understood the Irish-based consortium spoke to Quinn for advice because of his connections to the club