Saudi PIF Gets Closer to Acquiring Newcastle United
Posted on 10/07/2021
After more than 2 years of talks, the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF) neared closer to a deal to buy Newcastle United in the English Premier League. The English Premier League is set to approve the transaction before the end of the week, according to various media outlets. Fans of Newcastle United are not happy with the club’s deeply unpopular owner Mike Ashley, a British billionaire retail entrepreneur focused in the sporting goods market, and the chief executive of Frasers Group Plc.
An investor group comprised of PIF, British financier Amanda Staveley, and the billionaire Reuben brothers, bid US$ 380 million in 2020, but pulled out after the English Premier League spent months scrutinizing Saudi Arabia’s government involvement in the deal. However, the English Premier League now has received “legally binding assurances” that the club will not technically be controlled by the Saudi crown, but rather the sovereign wealth fund – PIF. PIF’s head Yasir al-Rumayyan is set to be non-executive chairman of the soccer club.
