BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Leeds United | Leeds begin takeover talks
Leeds United have revealed they are in discussions with several parties interested in buying the Elland Road club.
Leeds confirmed to the Stock Exchange on Wednesday that the talks were "at a very early stage and may or may not lead to an offer being made for the company".
The financial problems at the Premiership club have been well documented in recent times, and they have until 19 January to find a buyer with the debt currently about £82m.
Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Mubarak Al-Khalifa is one potential saviour, but former board member Allan Leighton is also believed to be assembling a takeover consortium.
The Sheikh has revealed that his group includes two Saudi Arabian businessmen and an Asiatic company.
He also revealed that a rival bidder - believed to be Leighton - had entered the race.
Leeds chief executive Trevor Birch earlier said he was confident a buyer would come forward to save them.
"I think there will always be people out there who want to own a Premier League football club," Birch told BBC Radio Leeds. "In that sense you have to be confident that given that everybody in the world knows that Leeds United is for sale, someone will come forward able to conclude a transaction in the short time frame that we have to work."
Birch has also promised that the side's best players will not be sold in the January transfer window as it would increase the prospect of Leeds being relegated. But he stressed that it was vital to stop the club going into administration as that would leave its fate in the hands of the rest of the Premier League clubs.
"There is great fundamental uncertainty whether the club could go into administration and reappear because Premier League rules are different to Football League rules," said Birch. "he Premier League is a limited company, there are 20 shareholders and the fate of the club is likely to be decided by the 20 representatives at a shareholders' meeting. You couldn't, hand on heart, take the club into an administration process when you are not sure about what the outcome would be. For example, take a club trying to make ends meet and they've had mediocrity for the last five or six years. They may have looked on with jealousy at what Leeds have done, but then see Leeds wiping out their debts. They could say 'tough, you've broken the rules and out you go'."
Leeds United have revealed they are in discussions with several parties interested in buying the Elland Road club.
Leeds confirmed to the Stock Exchange on Wednesday that the talks were "at a very early stage and may or may not lead to an offer being made for the company".
The financial problems at the Premiership club have been well documented in recent times, and they have until 19 January to find a buyer with the debt currently about £82m.
Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Mubarak Al-Khalifa is one potential saviour, but former board member Allan Leighton is also believed to be assembling a takeover consortium.
The Sheikh has revealed that his group includes two Saudi Arabian businessmen and an Asiatic company.
He also revealed that a rival bidder - believed to be Leighton - had entered the race.
Leeds chief executive Trevor Birch earlier said he was confident a buyer would come forward to save them.
"I think there will always be people out there who want to own a Premier League football club," Birch told BBC Radio Leeds. "In that sense you have to be confident that given that everybody in the world knows that Leeds United is for sale, someone will come forward able to conclude a transaction in the short time frame that we have to work."
Birch has also promised that the side's best players will not be sold in the January transfer window as it would increase the prospect of Leeds being relegated. But he stressed that it was vital to stop the club going into administration as that would leave its fate in the hands of the rest of the Premier League clubs.
"There is great fundamental uncertainty whether the club could go into administration and reappear because Premier League rules are different to Football League rules," said Birch. "he Premier League is a limited company, there are 20 shareholders and the fate of the club is likely to be decided by the 20 representatives at a shareholders' meeting. You couldn't, hand on heart, take the club into an administration process when you are not sure about what the outcome would be. For example, take a club trying to make ends meet and they've had mediocrity for the last five or six years. They may have looked on with jealousy at what Leeds have done, but then see Leeds wiping out their debts. They could say 'tough, you've broken the rules and out you go'."
