Newcastle takeover: Saudi Arabian-led consortium withdraws bid

Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, PCP Capital Partners and Reuben Brothers - the parties making up the consortium - released a joint statement outlining their "regret" at the decision following an "unforseeably prolonged process".

A deal was agreed with current Newcastle owner Mike Ashley more than four months ago.

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."

The takeover has faced a lengthy delay while awaiting approval, for numerous reasons.

In June, the World Trade Organisation ruled that Saudi Arabia had helped broadcaster beoutQ breach international piracy laws and illegally show a range of sports coverage, including Premier League matches.

The country's human rights record has also come under severe scrutiny, with organisations such as Amnesty International urging the takeover to be blocked.

More recently it has been reported that a barrier to the Premier League's owners' and directors' test being passed has been an inability to clearly ascertain who would in fact be in control of Newcastle should the takeover go through.

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"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," the statement continued.

"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 and wish the team and everyone associated with it much good luck and success."

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