Port Vale's £8million investment deal with American firm Blue Sky Investments is dead, the company's chief has said.
The announcement of the deal enabled under-fire duo Peter Miller and Perry Deakin to get elected to the club's board, with the Supporters Club backing their election on the back of the massive investment. But Hank Julicher has told The Sentinel that the deal was worth only a fraction of the claimed amount and depended on the Valiants securing funding from other sources to pay for Blue Sky's work:
"The deal is dead and has been, in my eyes, for a long time. I simply don't know where these figures of £5 million and £8 million came from. It was never our intention to invest that kind of money into Port Vale. I'd have to be crazy or on drugs to agree to such a thing. By my estimation, the maximum outlay for Blue Sky would have been in the region of $850,000 (the equivalent of about £550,000).
"The partnership won't be happening."
Julicher also says that neither he, nor his wife, has any knowledge of the 30,000 shares issued by the club to his wife. They were used to elect Miller and Deakin but never paid for. A club statement, issued on behalf of chairman Miller, read: "The comments made by Hank Julicher are incorrect and a blatant misrepresentation of the facts and documented evidence will substantiate this position."
Meanwhile, there are unconfirmed reports that bailiffs visited Vale Park over an unpaid bill yesterday.