Newcastle takeover OFF: Magpies suffer huge blow as Saudis pull out of £300m deal
After waiting months for an update, Newcastle have received the news they were dreading.
The Saudi-led consortium attempting to buy Newcastle have announced they have withdrawn their bid to buy the club. Back in April, Newcastle owner Mike Ashley first agreed to sell to Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, PCP Capital Partners and Reuben Brothers for £300million under 2.5 soccer tip.
But after growing opposition, a row over piracy and uncertainty from the Premier League, the deal is now off.
A statement read: "With a deep appreciation for the Newcastle community and the significance of its football club, we have come to the decision to withdraw our interest in acquiring Newcastle United Football Club.
"We do so with regret, as we were excited and fully committed to invest in the great city of Newcastle and believe we could have returned the club to the position of its history, tradition and fans' merit.
"Unfortunately, the prolonged process under the current circumstances coupled with global uncertainty has rendered the potential investment no longer commercially viable.
"To that end, we feel a responsibility to the fans to explain the lack of alternatives from an investment perspective.
"As an autonomous and purely commercial investor, our focus was on building long-term value for the club, its fans and the community as we remained committed to collaboration, practicality and proactivity through a difficult period of global uncertainty and significant challenges for the fans and the club.
"Ultimately, during the unforeseeably prolonged process, the commercial agreement between the Investment Group and the club's owners expired and our investment thesis could not be sustained, particularly with no clarity as to the circumstances under which the next season will start and the new norms that will arise for matches, training and other activities.
"As often occurs with proposed investments in uncertain periods, time itself became an enemy of the transaction, particularly during this difficult phase marked by the many real challenges facing us all from Covid-19.
"We feel great compassion for the Newcastle United fans, with whom we shared a great commitment to help Newcastle United harness its tremendous potential and build upon its impressive and historic legacy while working closely with the local community.
"We would like to say that we truly appreciated your incredible expressions of support and your patience throughout this process. We are sorry it is not to be.
"We wish the team and everyone associated with it much good luck and success."
PIF's withdrawal from the process will come as a boost to the Premier League, who have been struggling to make a decision on the deal soccer prediction today.
It also paves the way for American entrepreneur Henry Mauriss to make his move on the club.
The businessman, who is CEO of Clear TV Media, is understood to have the funds in place and has none of the problems which has stalled the deal with PIF.
