David Craig just been on SSN saying that Shearer likely to be announced late this week or early next week - once bidder has proved they can raise the £100m, they get access to the data room (online books, due diligence etc - designed to speed up the process) and apparently Seymour Pierce are saying they will ask the buyers after they've had a look at the books online whether they want Shearer in or not - and then will discuss that with Llambias and Shearer.
If it's true, good news. At least Pierce seem to be doing their best to speed this up - good to wait a few extra days if it means a sale is sped up by a few extra weeks.