DBasia.news – PIF, which is under the command of the Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammad Bin Salman has withdrawn from the acquisition process of Newcastle United.
In mid-April, PIF teamed up with PCP Capital Partners led by Amanda Staveley to realize this acquisition. Newcastle owner Mike Ashley has reportedly agreed to sell the club he has led since 2007 at a price of £ 300 million.
But Prince Salman’s desire to have Newcastle United was rejected by many. He is considered to have a poor track record because he was involved in a number of human rights violations.
One Premier League sponsor, BeIN Sports also hinders this acquisition. The Qatari company said the Saudi Arabian government allowed the broadcasting of their shows illegally causing material losses.
The demands of many parties finally made the Premier League postpone the acquisition of Newcastle. They asked for advice from the British government related to this Prince Salman polemic.
PIF feels the desire to have Newcastle tried to be defeated by various parties. Even though they have answered various accusations.
At almost the same time, a US businessman named Henry Mauriss tried to hijack the purchase of Newcastle. He is even ready to pay a higher price of £ 350 million.
Reported by the Daily Mail, the offer makes Ashley tempted. He asked PIF to increase its offer.
This certainly makes PIF furious. They considered Ashley to violate an agreement signed four months ago.
The accumulation of all these problems finally made PIF and Prince Salman surrender. They canceled the acquisition process of Newcastle.
“We have taken the decision to attract our interest in acquiring Newcastle United. We do it with regret, because we are passionate and fully committed to investing fully in Newcastle and believe we can restore the club to its initial history, tradition and achievements,” the official PIF statement said.
“In the end, during an unexpected prolonged process, the commercial agreement between the Investment Group and the club owner ended and our investment could not be maintained.”
Amanda Steveley is no less disappointed. The woman who is considered an expert in the takeover of the Premier League club apologized to Newcastle fans who have provided support.
“We feel devastated but thank the fans, and I personally thank fans for all the support. They have the opportunity, they all say we have not answered the question even though we have done it,” said Steveley.
PIF’s resignation makes Henry Mauriss now the strongest candidate to become Newcastle’s new owner. An agreement must be made immediately so that the Magpies can improve before the 2020-2021 season starts.