Rumours "not true"According to The Chronicle, they were contacted by one of their ‘usually reliable sources’ who said that one interested group had reached written agreement about buying the club and ‘other sources’ close to Sheard’s American bidders said that the deal is close to crossing the finishing line.
Both Derek Llambias and Seymour Pierce deny these rumours though, simply stating that they’re “not true”. Jonathon Brill – Ashley’s excellent PR man – just said that “talks are ongoing”.
Whilst I know the press do manage to bribe secure reliable sources sometimes, they don’t appear to have done so when it comes to anything to do with the Toon takeover situation.
The whole thing has be plagued by one unreliable rumour after another and it hasn’t been helped by the blatant publicity-seeking exhibited by some consortia under the guise of supposed bids.
My guess is that Sheard’s bid is a non-starter, just like those of The Profitable Group, Graham Roberts and Freddy Shepherd. In fact I think Moat’s bid is the only one that’s likely to be (or have been) a serious contender. (more…)
Harris talks but says littleAccording to previous press reports, Newcastle United’s £39m overdraft facility with Barclays Bank ended on the 31st August and unless some other agreement was reached it was going to be renewed with only a £10m limit, in line with Barclays’ policy for Championship clubs.
If reports that the club owed £20m on that overdraft facility are true, then Ashley would have needed to pay off the other £10m by August 31st.
Barry Moat was apparently in the process of trying to negotiate some sort of deal with Barclays, which would allow the club to maintain a working overdraft facility higher than £10m and thus put him in a better position to take over the club.
I therefore wonder what happened with that, not that I’m expecting to hear anything from the club about it. (more…)
Star-spangled Toon.According to The Mirror, Alan Shearer is the fairest of them all.
Or at least that will be the case if the Sheard-fronted American bid is successful.
The Mirror claims the consortium is close to signing a deal, although forgive me for not getting all excited but we’ve heard this sort of stuff before and it has so far come to nothing.
Apparently these Yanks have a background in the American sports industry and have the funds to pay Ashley’s £100m asking price, build and market the club and sign players.
A source close to the bid (yawn) said:
“This bid is both serious and credible. The difference between this and other bids is that the funding is there to buy the club if agreement can be reached on other financial areas such as the club’s £39million overdraft.
“Ideally, the consortium would have liked the business completed before the transfer deadline closed but they are serious about buying the club and won’t rush.
“Talks are under way and Mike Ashley’s original asking price shouldn’t be an issue. But it will take time and because of all the other disappointments the Americans have to play their cards close to their chests.” (more…)
