Rochdale Football Club is pleased to confirm that it has openly engaged with Chris Dunphy on investment in the Club following his comments made immediately after the Stockport County fixture on Saturday April 22nd 2023.
As communicated towards the end of 2022, the Club is actively seeking investment, and is in discussions with several interested parties.
To this end, and in keeping with the approach used so far for others who have approached the club, the following information has been requested from Chris Dunphy to progress matters appropriately.
For the avoidance of doubt, the Club remains fully bound by EFL Regulations and the Club has requested the information below be provided by no later than Tuesday May 9th 2023, in order to ensure it can comply fully with those Regulations as may be needed, given the Club is still operating under a suspended points penalty until October 2024 for a previous failure to comply with the EFL regulations over a previous attempted takeover in Summer 2021.
The request comprised:
1. The proposed transaction date relating to change of Control.
2. The names of the proposed subscriber(s) for shares.
3. The number of shares proposed to be acquired.
4. Proof of funds for the value of shares to be acquired in Point 3.
5. The identity and relevant personal documents of all proposed new Directors in order for the EFL Owners and Directors Test (“OADT”) to be undertaken, on the understanding that Article 76 of the Club’s Articles of Association requires the number of Directors to not be less than seven and not more than fifteen.
6. Projected Future Financial Information (“FFI”) (as defined in Regulation 16 of EFL rules) prepared to take into account the consequences of the change of Control, namely:
a. Source of funding for the initial shares being requested.
b. Projected budget and cashflow forecast on the operating model for the Club for the next three seasons (2023-24, 2024-25 and 2025-26).
c. Evidence as to ultimate source and sufficiency of funding necessary to complete the transaction and meet the cash requirements of the Club as identified by the FFI.
7. The names of all parties who under the proposal may qualify as a Relevant Person following the transaction. Compliance with the OADT and subsequent EFL approval is required for all relevant individuals.
8. Confirmation that all proposed Directors either are currently, or will become shareholders, given that Article 78 requires every Director to be a listed shareholder of the Company.
Once the Club is in receipt of all of the above information and all relevant individuals have signed and returned the required Non-Disclosure Agreement (‘NDA’), the full investment pack will be provided for review.
Several other interested parties have already signed NDA's and investment discussions are also ongoing with these parties, in addition to Chris Dunphy.
A further update will follow no later than Wednesday May 10th 2023.