Saudi Arabia PIF
‘Do we give up now?’: Staveley comments on piracy and what next in the Newcastle takeover process
The Saudi-backed consortium has withdrawn their bid to buy Newcastle United today. After 18 weeks of dilly-dallying, the Premier League failed to reach a conclusion whether they should allow them the green signal to get the deal done. Amanda Staveley was heartbroken as she released a joint statement about their stance. She has stated that the takeover has faced obstruction from rival clubs, but most importantly they got frustrated with the delay from the Premier League. The businesswoman has claimed that the consortium has done everything to get the deal done. They have answered every question asked by the Premier League, and yet they couldn’t get the decision in their favour. While it is thought that the issue of piracy is the major reason why the takeover didn’t happen, Staveley has refu...
‘There is no chance’: Report claims the latest status of Saudi takeover of NUFC
According to reports from The Mirror, the Saudi takeover of Newcastle United has stalled indefinitely. To put it simply, the Saudi takeover deal won’t happen unless they come up with a solution to allow sports rights holders BeINSports to protect their rights. Mike Ashley, who has already agreed a £300m deal, has emotionally distanced himself from the club. He just wants to sell the club and move on. However, it seems the deal is unlikely to be waved through. The Premier League are showing full support to its major £500m overseas rights holder beIN Sports. The Saudi government permanently banned beINSports from broadcasting in the country – a decision that hasn’t worked in their favour. It means, there is currently no legal way of watching the Premier League in Saudi Arabia. As it stands, ...
Report claims the potential outcome of NUFC takeover after the BeIn ban in KSA
The Newcastle United takeover saga has taken an unexpected twist in the last 24 hours after the Saudi Arabian government took the decision to permanently ban the Premier League’s Qatar-based Middle East broadcast partner BeinSports from operating in the kingdom. As we all know, the issue of piracy is the major factor being the takeover process being delayed, and still it is everyone’s guess what the outcome will be. The potential owners – A Saudi-led consortium (PIF), Amanda Staveley and Reuben Brothers – are looking to buy Newcastle from Mike Ashley for £300m, and a part-payment has already been made in advance. However, the Premier League has taken 16 weeks to study the deal, and yet they couldn’t come to a conclusion. Just when it was thought that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund w...
‘This stinks to high heaven’: Many NUFC fans react to latest reports on takeover
The Newcastle United takeover saga is approaching 100 days now, and potential owners – Amanda Staveley, the Reuben brothers and the Saudi Public Investment Fund – are still waiting for approval from the Premier League. As we all know, two issues are sticking up as stumbling block for the takeover to go through – the issue of piracy and the problem relating to human rights. While Matt Slater of The Athletic has recently claimed that the human rights problems are not a bigger issue for the Premier League, but the one with the piracy is a massive barrier for the takeover to get the green signal. However, it seems, the families of human rights campaigners are not giving up as yet. According to reports from The Independent, families of human rights campaigners held in Saudi jails have...
‘Two ways out of this’: The Athletic journalist shares fascinating insight on NUFC takeover
When the Newcastle United takeover process started, it was initially thought that the Premier League would hardly take four weeks to deliver their verdict. It’s nearly three months now, and no one has got any clue about what the outcome will be. Newcastle are doing well on the pitch but without any direction off the pitch, the Magpies are in limbo. According to the Athletic journalist, Matt Slater, it is the issue of piracy that is yet to be resolved, and that is the only stumbling block at the moment. Two ways out of this: proceed with PIF-led takeover but make real progress on piracy or repackage the deal to create distance between KSA state & NUFC (this is what many thought they should have done in the 1st place but will be hard now as they’ll look like shadow directors) — Mat...
