All parties involved in the attempted takeover of English club Newcastle United F.C. by a consortium consisting of PCP Capital Partners, Reuben Brothers and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia are hopeful that a deal will pull through later today, Thursday.
The ongoing takeover proceedings commenced in April 2020 but looked to be off when consortium pulled out last year; however, a significant barrier was removed when Saudi state resolved issue with beIN Sports over illegal streaming of the English Premier League.
However, there is no guarantee it will be announced on Thursday but the parties are hopeful and working around the clock to ensure that the deal finalised as soon as possible.
“If all of this had been done 18 months ago, the takeover would have been signed off already,’ a source told Sportsmail. ‘The Premier League could not approve a takeover whereby one of its member clubs would be owned by a state it believed to be guilty of piracy against the League and one of its broadcast partners. The League has tried to sue the Saudi state nine times in relation to piracy.
“That was why the buyers had to prove separation from the Saudi state. That was almost impossible; especially given the revelations about Mohammed bin Salman texting Boris Johnson and pressurising him to influence the deal.
“But those issues, including piracy, have now been resolved. Crucially, the Premier League does not want to be seen to be connected directly to the Saudi state,” the source added.
