(Nov 28): The owners of Sheffield United Football Club have begun sounding out potential new investors, after the club faced tougher-than-expected first phase under its current ownership.
COH Sports has hired advisory firm Penwick Group to help assess incoming interest, according to people familiar with the matter.
Resilience Capital Partners co-founder Steven Rosen and Helmy Eltoukhy, chairman of biotech firm Guardant Health Inc, completed its takeover of Sheffield United in December last year. The club was previously owned by Saudi-backed United World Group, led by Prince Abdullah bin Mosaad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, which had been involved with the club since 2013.
COH is open to selling a minority stake of up to 20%, the people added, asking not to be identified discussing private information.
As part of the potential investment talks, COH is also looking to renegotiate the repayment schedule with the club’s previous owners, the people said. COH has so far paid £30 million, with another repayment due imminently.
COH also approached the administrators of Sheffield Wednesday, another football club competing in the Championship, to see if there might be any collaboration opportunities, according to a person familiar with the matter.
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Sheffield Wednesday fell into administration in late October following a prolonged financial crisis at the club. Begbies Traynor were appointed as joint administrators to manage the process of finding a new owner. Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday are fierce cross-town rivals. Any attempt to merge the teams would be met with outrage from fans.
A spokesperson for COH declined to comment. Penwick didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
“There are some serious bidders involved and our duty is to choose the best deal for the Club and its creditors,” said Paul Stanley, a partner at Begbie Traynors. “We just have to make sure we don’t do anything that takes a wrecking ball to the goodwill built up with fans by recommending the club is sold to a bidder that wants to merge the two Sheffield teams.”
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Since the takeover by the US investors, Sheffield United lost the promotion play-off to the Premier League, fired manager Chris Wilder, and made a number of under-performing signings. After a disastrous start to the new season, the club has since rehired Wilder. The team currently lie 21st in the Championship, one place above relegation.
While COH had anticipated a challenging transition after the takeover, the early months have proved harder than expected according to a person close to the group.
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