Soccer Football - Premier League - Tottenham Hotspur v Newcastle United - Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, Britain - September 27, 2020 Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley in the stands Pool via REUTERS/Andrew Boyers EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club /league/player publications. Please contact your account representative for further details.
The Chronicle’s chief Newcastle United writer Lee Ryder has declared that Toon owner Mike Ashley is believed to have contacted the Middle East side of the thus far unsuccessful Newcastle United takeover deal before making the decision in November to pursue arbitration against the Premier League over their handling of the takeover bid.
Per Ryder, the purpose of this contact was for the Newcastle United owner to ensure that the consortium, consisting of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, PCP Capital Partners and the Reuben brothers, still wanted to purchase the North East club, despite having withdrawn from the takeover process in late July after the English top-flight was still scrutinising the paperwork relevant to their takeover bid months after it had been lodged.
What does this tell us about PIF’s influence on the Newcastle United arbitration pursuit?
In this article, as other articles had previously explained, it’s stated that the consortium behind this takeover bid are said to be open to reigniting their interest in purchasing the Toon if the club is successful in its legal battle with the Premier League.
Ryder has now made it clear that the Toon owner made sure of this fact himself, directly, before launching legal action against the English top-flight by contacting PIF to dispel any lingering doubt of his, over their remaining takeover interest.
So, it may be fair to say, this news makes it clear that PIF has had some significant influence over the North East club’s decision to take legal action against the Premier League as it would appear that they played an important role in convincing Toon owner Ashley to take this step.
Are you confident that Newcastle's arbitration pursuit will be successful?
YES
NO
Hopefully, for PIF, the rest of this consortium and Toon owner Ashley, this legal battle helps them to get the takeover back on track, as it’s clear that all parties felt it was the best route to go down to help their cause. If it is unsuccessful, however, that could spell the end of this takeover process once and for all..
In other news, the Newcastle Consortium Supporters Ltd (NCSL) have dropped a big takeover claim after Jamie Reuben ‘liked’ one of their latest Twitter posts.
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