Thursday 19 January 2017 21:19, UK
The consortium that had a bid to buy Nottingham Forest fall through earlier this month has expressed its disappointment at the way events unfolded.
A US consortium fronted by John Jay Moores and Charles Noell appeared poised to acquire an 80 per cent stake in the midlands club.
But owner Fawaz Al-Hasawi announced last week that negotiations had come to an end and the proposed deal "as it stands is not in the interests of the long-term future of our club".
Moores and Noell released a statement on Thursday which read: "We are disappointed that it was not possible to close the proposed deal for our acquisition of Nottingham Forest.
"We recognise the anxiety and uncertainty this has caused among Forest fans and share the very deep sense of frustration they are currently feeling.
"That the deal remains incomplete is not due to any lack of immediately available capital, belief, desire, action or ability on the part of either ourselves or our advisory team, who have worked tirelessly throughout.
"Our most recently revised offer was made earlier this week. It was made with significantly enhanced terms to acquire 100% of the club, which was the owner's preference. Sadly, this offer was not accepted.
"We will remain interested in following Forest's performance with a view to perhaps re-engaging with the ownership about acquiring the club in the future."
For his part, owner Al-Hasawi has written an open letter to fans, announcing the appointment of Samantha Gordon as chief financial officer and re-affirming his commitment to the club.
"There have been lots of developments over the last week or so," he said.
"And I feel it is my responsibility to reach out to you directly to assure you of my complete and utter commitment to Nottingham Forest, and securing its long-term position as a thriving and successful club - both on and off the pitch.
"I know that there have been a number of rumours circulating on the takeover talks over the last few days.
"Unfortunately I am not able to go into detail about those talks due to confidentiality restrictions, however I would like to publicly reiterate my dedication to the club and its fans."
