Saturday 21 January 2017 11:58, UK
Nottingham Forest owner Fawaz Al-Hasawi has rejected comments made by an American consortium which failed in its recent bid to purchase the club.
The consortium, fronted by John Jay Moores and Charles Noell, had been in talks with the Midlands club for months, but the deal fell through on January 13 as Al Hasawi felt the deal was "not in the interests of the long-term future" of Forest.
Following the collapse, the consortium (JMI) said: "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 with significantly enhanced terms to acquire 100 per cent of the club, which was the owner's preference. Sadly, this offer was not accepted."
But Al-Hasawi responded through a statement on the club's website which read: "I reject JMI's statement as to why the talks fell apart.
"I cannot go into more detail about the content of the negotiations as a result of the confidentiality restrictions in place. But I want to assure fans I remain as devoted as ever to this great club.
"Admittedly, I am frustrated that we could not conclude a deal that would work in the interests of all involved, but I will not allow fans to be misled that the takeover fell through solely because of my actions.
"All negotiations of this type are inherently complex. I have acted with integrity and in good faith throughout the negotiations and reject claims that I had no desire to complete a deal.
"I have made a significant investment into Nottingham Forest and now that the path has been cleared of any obstacles, we can focus again on improving the club's position.
"I will continue to support the club as I have done from the first day I arrived, and work to build a better future. I thank the fans, staff and players for their continued support."
