January 20 – An American consortium looking to secure a deal to takeover former European champions Nottingham Forest say a revised bid has been rejected.John Jay Moores and Charles Noell, the two figureheads leading the consortium, released a statement in which they claim to have made an offer to buy the club outright. The previous deal had been for an 80%, with current chairman Fawaz Al Hasawi set to retain 20%.
The duo say their latest offer was turned down by Al Hasawi, who had ended previous negotiations with the group.
The statement read: “We are disappointed that it was not possible to close the proposed deal for our acquisition of Nottingham Forest Football Club Limited. Until now we have chosen not to comment openly about the process of our negotiations with the Club’s ownership. We recognise the anxiety and uncertainty this situation has caused among Forest fans and share the very deep sense of frustration they are currently feeling.”
“We have been firmly committed to completing the acquisition since we opened negotiations in August and we remained optimistic throughout that the sale would be completed. That the deal remains incomplete is not due to any lack of immediately available capital, belief, desire, action or ability on the part of either ourselves or our advisory team, who have worked tirelessly throughout.
“In anticipation of this sale actually closing, we made extensive preparations to improve the club, both on and off the pitch. We also chose to support the club financially by lending monies to it to ensure that salaries were met in November and December.
“Our most recently revised offer was made earlier this week. It was made with significantly enhanced terms to acquire 100% of the club, which was the owner’s preference. Sadly, this offer was not accepted. This offer was made following us being informed last week by the current owners that there was no no longer a desire to conclude on the agreed terms reflected in the documentation.
Forest, once the pride of English football, have plummeted to 20th in the second-tier Championship with just two points from seven matches and are currently managerless.
In an open letter to supporters Al Hasawi said he will continue to “put the interests of Nottingham Forest at the heart of every decision” he makes.
“Nottingham Forest is one of the world’s oldest surviving teams. This is a legacy worth defending, and our priority should be to build on this unique heritage to protect the future of our club.”
Fan groups have reacted angrily to Al Hawasi and demanding he leaves the club. A protest is planned this weekend with former club legend turned media commentator Stan Collymore in the vanguard.
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