Richards Bay FC chairman Jomo Biyela will this week make a final decision on three offers he has received for the club's Premiership status. Soccer Laduma has been reliably informed that three consortiums have approached Biyela after hearing that he was prepared to sell after finding the financial obligations of running a topflight outfit too demanding.
Indications from Siya sources are that Maritzburg United, Marumo Gallants and a consortium that includes former AmaZulu FC owners the Sokhela family, have tabled different offers.
According to sources closer to the developments, Biyela has valued the club at R62 million and announced that anyone willing to offer him anything closer to his evaluation of the team could come forward.
However, this publication has learnt that one of the three interested parties have offered Biyela R50 millions and one of the conditions of the sale is that he (Biyela) be offered the Motsepe Foundation Championship status of the buyer.
The Siya crew has been informed that the Sokhelas, who have partnered with a supermarket chain, have offered more than the R50 million offered by another bidder because they cannot offer a second-tier status in return.
"Whatever happens," claimed a source, "Biyela has promised to accept one of the three offers and an announcement will be made before the end of this week."
"I cannot tell which offer Biyela will eventually accept, but it seems like the Sokhela family's offer is simply too good to be true and he could end up accepting their offer, unless Maritzburg and Marumo table obscene amounts, perhaps maybe even match the figure (R62 million) that Biyela had demanded when it became public knowledge that he was selling."
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