Sheffield United 'takeover' could be set for another twist as new US group linked
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Based in Miami but with offices in New York and London, 777 Partners signalled their desire to enter the English game by holding talks with officials at Goodison Park about a takeover before negotiations collapsed. After gaining promotion to the Premier League, and with owner Prince Abdullah bin Musa’ad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud admitting he came close to selling his shares last year, United are said to have been identified as a potentially attractive acquisition by 777’s analysts, who have also investigated the possibility of making a bid for West Ham.
Speaking to United’s in-house media department last week, Prince Abdullah described the period between the January transfer window and April’s victory over West Bromwich Albion, which sealed their return to the top-flight, as the “most difficult” of his life; confirming he was faced with a choice of either selling star players or offloading the club outright after putting in “all the money I can put in” and borrowing “all of the money I could borrow.” In the event, neither happened with Paul Heckingbottom’s squad ensuring at least £170m will be pumped into United’s coffers over the next three seasons by finishing second in the Championship.
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Nigerian entrepreneur Dozy Mmobuosi, who operates primarily in the agri fintech sector, had appeared posed to buy United after being granted a period of exclusivity by Prince Abdullah and placing nearly £9m worth of funds into an account controlled by United World - the company the Saudi Arabian uses to control his portfolio of sporting interests. But Mmobuosi’s bid stalled when he failed to be granted approval by the English Football League, although the 43-year-old has insisted he remains committed to trying to push the deal through and resurrecting his discussions with United’s representatives.
As The Star recently revealed, United have been the subject of interest from a number of individuals, consortiums and brokerages based in North America since Prince Abdullah first stated he was investigating the possibility of a sale.