Sunderland now face a big dilemma as a consortium fronted by William Storey has reportedly now submitted a £42m offer to buy the Wearside club.
The Lowdown: Storey tries again
Storey tried to buy the Stadium of Light faithful back in 2020, but failed in his bid, which leaves Kyril Louis-Dreyfus as the majority shareholder with a 41% stake.
Stewart Donald retains a 34% share, while Juan Sartori holds 20% and Charlie Methven the remaining 5% (The Daily Mail).Nonetheless, it now looks as if Storey is going to try his luck once more, and you’d have to say his timing is impeccably inconvenient given the importance of Friday’s play-off first leg against Sheffield Wednesday.The Latest: Offer madeAs per The Daily Mail, Storey and his consortium are now proposing to take up 100% of the shares, and are ‘keen’ to push through the deal if Alex Neil’s team do not win promotion up to the Championship.They welcome the Owls to Wearside in the first leg of the semi-final tonight, and sources close to the bid insist that there is ‘interest’ from some of the current owners to accept the offer, although there is none from majority shareholder Louis-Dreyfus.The Verdict: Accept it?After the confusion over the details of the ownership structure that came to light back in February, which left supporters feeling misled, now is the time to allow Storey and his consortium to own 100% of the shares, so long as they are committed to the club.It seems as if some of the owners are not at the moment, given the hectic nature of the shares split, and so their takes need to be sold to help the Black Cats move forward in unison.Nonetheless, it looks like Louis-Dreyfus is the one that needs persuading to hand over to Storey, in what is a big dilemma for both him and the club.In other news, find out which injured SAFC star could now make the Wednesday game here!