American millionaire Chris Kirchner has pulled his bid to buy Derby County.
Mr Kirchner missed a 5pm deadline last Friday to show he had the cash to complete a deal – and the club’s administrators have now announced that he has pulled out completely.
It leaves the Rams in a precarious position with the English Football League (EFL) just a couple of weeks away from announcing next season’s League One fixtures.
Derby went into administration last autumn and had 21 points docked as a result of their finances, pushing them out of the Championship.
Mr Kirchner was picked as the "preferred bidder" by the administrators and had been in exclusive talks with them for the past few weeks.
Over the weekend the EFL said it wanted to play a greater part in any negotiations with potential bidders – who include Frasers Group chief executive and former Newcastle owner Mike Ashley.
There are growing fears the club could be forced out of the football league all together now.
In a statement Derby’s administrators Quantuma said: “The joint administrators can confirm that today, Mr Kirchner has withdrawn his offer to acquire the business and assets of the club.
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“We are aware that some will be concerned by this news, however, the joint administrators wish to reassure the club’s staff, players and supporters that they are continuing to actively engage with a growing number of interested parties, each of whom have a real willingness to complete a deal as soon as possible.
“The joint administrators would remind all stakeholders of the process in place for those parties who wish to acquire the club.
“The joint administrators are running a competitive bidding process. Bids should be best and final and not contain any referential element.
“Clearly, any bid is subject to interested parties entering into an NDA, accessing the data room, and undertaking their own due diligence.
“Of the parties we are engaging with, some are more progressed in this process than others.”
This is the second time Mr Kirchner has pulled out of the running, after dropping an earlier attempt in December.
The co-founder and chief executive of software company Slync.io, a global logistics technology provider, had announced back in October his intention to purchase the Rams.
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Mr Kirchner later made a formal offer to buy the club and improved that but then stepped away from the process just before Christmas.
Back then he said: “It is with real sadness that I can confirm I am withdrawing from the process to buy Derby County Football Club.
“First and foremost, I would like to apologise to the fans. As you know, I’ve been in talks with the administrators for about two months."
He added: “As I did when I entered the process, I want to be transparent in this process and communicate to the fans first and directly. I’m just very sorry it’s not better news. I wish all Derby supporters and everyone at the club all the best for the future.
“My team and I are going to move forward into club ownership as was our goal when we set out and are moving forward.”
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