No, not that sort of bond manSome newspapers are reporting that a South African businessman is now interested in Newcastle United.
I rather suspect this could be a case of ‘here we go again’ as bids are rumoured and then fall by the wayside but you never can tell with this sort of thing – very occasionally a rumour turns out to be true.
Anyway, this particular rumour has a wealthy South African bond dealer supposedly having met the representatives of Barclays Bank who are involved in the sale of Newcastle United.
This bond dealer is allegedly represented in this country by solicitors Mishcon de Reya and at least one journalist – the Birdman at the Mirror – claims a ‘form of due diligence’ has already been completed by the South African.
The Mail, however, seems to think that no due diligence has been undertaken and warns that we could face a delay of many weeks while it’s completed. (more…)
Should I stay or should I go nowThe press are reporting that Barry Moat has made a ‘substantial’ offer for Newcastle United.
If I had a pound for every time I’ve quoted the press about someone being just about to take over Newcastle United I’d probably be able to buy the club myself. And then there’d be changes I can tell you. If however I had to pay a pound every time such a story turned out to be untrue I’d have to sell my wife and eat the dog to hold off starvation.
Still, if George Caulkin of The Times is to be believed, Barry Moat has successfully negotiated the continuation of the club’s overdraft with Barclays and has tabled a bid of ‘slightly less than £100m’. The Mail and The Mirror are reporting similar things, although all these stories probably have their origin in the same rumour. None of the stories even quote ‘insiders’ or ‘sources’ let alone anyone who might actually be in a position to reliably know anything, so the usual caution is advised.
Nevertheless it makes a certain amount of sense in terms of timing. It was generally surmised that Keegangate was an ‘obstacle’ to the take over and with that now out of the way we could perhaps expect things to start moving again.
The question being asked though is: will Mike Ashley actually sell? (more…)
Foghorn LeghornFormer Newcastle United owner Freddy Shepherd has been having his say on Keegangate, as is his wont in such situations these days, and of course that called for a comparison with his time at Newcastle and how things were so much better back then.
Freddy said:
“There are no winners [I say no winners, you listening to me boy] in this case. There are only losers – the club and its fans. Kevin Keegan and Mike Ashley are just passing through – it is the institution of Newcastle United that is damaged by this episode.
“During my time at Newcastle, when a manager left we always managed to sort it out amicably and agree on a settlement.
“And when Ruud Gullit left he agreed to waive all his rights to compensation. Gullit is the most honourable man I have ever met in football.
“Things weren’t going well and he came to me and told me he had lost the fans. He told me he wanted to go quietly and didn’t want a penny paid into his bank account. There aren’t many men of that calibre in the game. He showed he had true class and integrity [and I aint no chickenhawk, chickenhawk that is].” (more…)
Edging close perhapsReports in The Mail and The Mirror are suggesting that Newcastle United may be sold by the end of this week. We’ve heard it all before of course but one of the newspapers will get it right one day and maybe it’s today.
Last week Newcastle issued a statement saying that Ashley’s £100m asking price has been met and all deals were now at the ‘sale and purchase stage‘ and apparently senior staff at the club have been told to brace themselves for ‘a big week‘ this week.
It was speculated that the sticking point was the loan facility with Barclays, so presumably – if a sale is imminent – that has now been sorted out and Barry Moat is in a position to take over the club.
If Moat takes over it is of course widely thought that Alan Shearer will be appointed as manager, although whether or not that’s a good idea still divides fans. At a function last week Shearer was indicating that he would not wait for Newcastle forever and was prepared to consider managing another club, but if the takeover is as close as the newspapers are suggesting it looks like Shearer won’t have to do that. (more…)
Get out of this toonAccording to a statement the club made to The Journal, Ashley’s £100m asking price has been met and ‘all parties are at the sale and purchase stage‘, which sounds a bit different to any parties I’ve been to.
The Journal then goes on to speculate that it could still be some time before the takeover situation is resolved and they quote ‘sources’ who say the club has just renegotiated a £25m overdraft with Barclays, reduced from last seasons £39m facility.
The Journal further speculates that Barry Moat is behind the £100m offer but that Barclays are not prepared to offer him the same £25m overdraft facility they’ll offer to Ashley.
‘Sources’ have apparently also confirmed that 2 overseas parties are also still interested in the club and have progressed beyond the due diligence phase, although they haven’t yet made formal offers.
So what can we make of this? I suspect our decent start to the season has encouraged Ashley to think about the possibilities of promotion. If he hangs onto the club and we do get promoted, he’ll probably be able to at least double his asking price. Although he’ll be taking a risk in doing that – we might not get promoted and the club may then be worth less than it is now and his potential buyers might have disappeared. (more…)
