Sell Before We Dai has released a statement following news that former chairman Roger Smee has had a takeover bid for the club rejected.
Smee put out a statement which confirmed that he put in a ‘sizeable and serious’ bid to buy the club from Dai Yongge, but that it was rejected.
Becky Trotman, spokesperson for Sell Before We Dai, commented: “We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again – it’s hugely positive that Reading Football Club are attracting so much attention from credible buyers… but what we really need is interest converting into a sale.
“Within the past two weeks, two men with experience of running football clubs – Rob Couhig and Roger Smee – have declared their interest in buying Reading Football Club, and both believe they have submitted bids that represent market value. Both of these bids have been rejected.
“Obviously there are two sides to every story, but this presents a few schools of thought. Being optimistic, if the club are rejecting credible bids, there must be growing confidence that the ‘mystery bidder’ is progressing positively, if not at pace.
“Being less optimistic, it means we are relying on Dai Yongge and his associates to get a deal done, with a bidder we know nothing about, before our club is unable to meet its financial obligations.
“Points deductions, selling top talent without the means to replace them and entering administration would all detract from the club’s value to any bidder. We see no reason why Dai Yongge would want this to happen, but we can imagine the fans of KSV Roeselare and Beijing Renhe had similar thoughts.
“We would love the club – as promised – to clarify at what stage the sale process is now at, but would also like to call on the EFL to lend their voice to the situation. How many more credible bids can be rejected without communication with the fans?”
