Sherwood lets Villa takeover deal cat out of the bag

ASTON Villa manager Tim Sherwood has revealed that a planned takeover deal for the Premier League club has fallen through.

Asked about the potential £150m deal with an unnamed consortium by Sky Sports, Sherwood said: “I think it’s dead now, to be honest.”

As reported by TheBusinessDesk.com in early June, one of the consortia bidding to take over last season’s losing FA Cup finalists was granted exclusivity – meaning it is in the late stages of trying to forge an agreement – but that period has passed with no deal.

Villa boss Randy Lerner has been trying to sell the club for a year and recently sold his farmhouse in Hurley, a village near Villa’s Bodymoor Heath training base.

The club has been linked with consortia from China and the US and also with a takeover bid fronted by Paul Smith, a former‎ Chelsea executive.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch is negotiating the sale on behalf of Lerner.