Hearts administrators BDO hope to persuade the insolvency firm in control of UBIG to support the deal that would take Heart of Midlothian Football Club plc out of administration on Friday.
"Tentative" discussions began yesterday and an agreement will need to be reached ahead of the meeting of creditors at the end of this week.
Creditors holding 75% or more of Hearts' debts need to vote in favour of the CVA proposal. UBIG are the majority shareholders in HMFCplc, with a 49.9% stake, and are currently being run by Vilnius-based UAB Bankroto Administravimo Paslaugos after being formally declared bankrupt last week. BDO have now managed to establish a direct line of communication with their insolvency colleagues in Lithuania, and talks will continue over the coming days.
If UBIG vote in favour of the CVA, or abstain, Hearts will pass into the control of the Foundation of Hearts.
The FoH coalition of supporters groups has raised the £2.5m that makes up the CVA offer to creditors. UBIG are owed £8.2m - from Hearts' total debt of £28.5m - however, all of the money would go to Ukio Bankas, the only secured creditor. They are expected to vote in favour, while UBIG will need to accept that their debt is effectively worthless.
So far, BDO have received no indication of how the Lithuanian administrators will vote. If they reject the CVA offer, then HMFCplc will not be able to exit administration, leaving FoH needing to follow the route taken by Sevco Scotland last summer, when they bought the business and assets of Rangers from Rangers Football Club plc in liquidation. Rangers lost their Scottish Premier League share and were effectively voted into the bottom tier by their fellow clubs. That was before the season started, though, and a similar scenario at Tynecastle would cause a far-reaching logistical problem for the newly-formed Scottish Professional Football League.
However, Herald Sport understands that a senior source close to the club insisted the rejection of the CVA offer would not mean immediate liquidation for HMFCplc, although it would leave it in a "bleak" situation.
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