Wannabe buyers say no reply from owners
A GROUP interested in taking over Sunderland has claimed it is still waiting for a response from Stewart Donald as it looks to invest in the club.
The accusation, made to the Sunday Sun, appears to contradict the former Eastleigh supremo’s previous statements insisting he will look to sell the club as quickly as possible.
Supporters have recently repeated their demand for a change in ownership at the club, Donald saying publicly he will not out-stay his welcome, while admitting he would be a ‘reluctant seller.’
Sources within the club claimed, prior to the coronavirus outbreak that caused a nationwide lockdown and badly affected the economy, that three groups were interested and going through due diligence.
It has been reported a Saudi-based consortium had an offer rejected in April because Donald had already accepted an offer from a preferred bidder.
Where that accepted offer currently stands is unknown, with Madrox – Donald’s holding company which owns Sunderland AFC and all of its assets – admitting the global pandemic has slowed down the process of selling the club, while also confirming to the Sunday Sun conversations with interested parties ‘remain ongoing.’
However, sources have told us at least one group has reached out to Donald over a sale of the club but found the process slow and complicated, leading it to become frustrated and look elsewhere in its pursuit to buy an EFL club.
The group is not the first to accuse Donald of such things with Mark Campbell claiming Donald ‘moved the goalposts’ after initial negotiations. The Sunderland chairman denied this.
Sammy Yu claimed he reached out to buy the club but received nothing back from the club, and ex-academy graduate Michael Gray claimed recently that a group he was connected with got ‘so far and then we kind of bounce back off the wall a little bit.’
That accusation follows reports that a takeover is being complicated because of the £20m issue in Sunderland’s financial books where the current owners used the club’s own parachute payments to purchase it from Ellis Short in May 2018.
Donald has not denied this and, despite removing the legal obligation to do so, has said he remains committed to repaying that money over time, some of which already has been.
Throughout, Madrox have always said they will only sell to the right people who they believe would take the club forward and not endanger the club’s future.
However, sources tell us the group who have contacted Donald since lockdown in March are serious.
As well as financially well off, they have an exciting vision for the club to progress and even have lawyers in waiting ready to start a due diligence process as soon as possible, anticipating it could be a lengthy process which takes months rather than weeks.
It is understood the group reached out to Donald to express their interest and were told someone would be in contact.
However, after waiting over a week with no contact, the group reached out to Donald again and received no reply.
The Sunday Sun has seen evidence of the correspondence.
As for how serious their interest is, sources tell us initial conversations with Donald did not go as far as providing any evidence but there was proof of funds ready when the club wanted to see them.
Without any serious conversations beyond the initial contact to express interest, the group was never in a position to begin negotiating.
The Sunday Sun has been able to verify the group’s financial ability to buy the club and help it progress.
In response, Madrox said: “Madrox has spoken to a number of interested parties throughout the last six months and conversations remain ongoing.
“We are not aware of any genuinely interested parties who have not received a reply.”
We are not aware of
any genuinely interested parties
that have not received a reply
Madrox