Wigan takeover collapsed after Spanish consortium HALVE initial bid to £1.5m which would have relegated club if accepted
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WIGAN Athletic’s Spanish takeover collapsed - after the bidders HALVED their offer for the club.
The League One strugglers would have been RELEGATED if they accepted the new deal as it would have left unsecured creditors unpaid, meaning a 15 point penalty.
And the club’s administrators pulled the plug before opening talks with rival bidders to save the beleaguered outfit.
It is a huge change by bidder Felipe Moreno who was originally willing to pay around £3 million for Latics. After further checks he put in a lowered offer to close to £1.5 million.
The creditors are due the money, with the tax man having to be paid but the unsecured creditors left with nothing. And that is against EFL rules.
Moreno, who owns Spanish side Leganes, had planned to send some fringe players over for the squad.
But that also proved difficult as new Brexit rules could have been a snag.
The administrators had given the Spaniards exclusivity and also took a deposit from them to pay the wages for a month or more.
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Now there is a rush to find a buyer to make sure that the salaries are still covered.
Former chairman Darren Royle has a takeover bid ready along with ally Ray Ranson. They hope to have financier Jonathan Rowland behind them.
Meanwhile Wigan’s Kal Naismith is leaving to join Cypriot club Apoel along with team mate Joe Garner.