Chris Kirchner close to Derby takeover after ‘most difficult’ business deal

Chris Kirchner says the deal to buy Derby has given him “a lot of sleepless nights” but is now close to completion.

Kirchner spoke about his painstaking efforts to take control of the club after the EFL Board said it had been advised that a deal to take Derby out of administration was not far away.

The Rams’ joint administrators last month named American software entrepreneur Kirchner as the preferred bidder for the club, who were recently relegated from the Sky Bet Championship.

Speaking to Derby’s in-house Rams TV, Kirchner said: “It has been a lot of sleepless nights, the stress of getting it done.

“It is probably one of the most difficult, if not the most difficult deal I have ever tried to do in business for a wide array of reasons.

“In terms of where we are right now, I wouldn’t be here if we weren’t close.

“The EFL process, there is a little bit of things may be around the business plan for the next year we need to do, but that is really it in that process.

It is probably one of the most difficult, if not the most difficult deal I have ever tried to do in business for a wide array of reasons- Prospective Derby owner Chris Kirchner

“I think they (the EFL) have put out a statement reflecting some of that, and then it just comes down to the stadium.”

Kirchner ended his initial interest in the club in December but recently returned to negotiations as Derby, managed by former England captain Wayne Rooney, headed for League One.

Derby were placed in administration last September and issued with a regulation 12-point penalty as a result, as well as being hit with an additional nine-point penalty for breaches of accounting rules.

Kirchner’s bid to buy the club has faced a major stumbling block in respect of its Pride Park