Thursday morning brought a reported Newcastle takeover ‘update’ from Football Insider. But what really was the update?
They claimed that the club are privately confident of a takeover being completed once arbitration is concluded in July.
Football Insider also stated that all parties of the consortium remain committed to the deal, and that there is hope it can be completed before the end of next month.
So what’s new? Where is the update?
Firstly, their confidence is hardly private if it’s made it into the media.
Secondly, of course Newcastle are confident. The whole point of Mike Ashley’s legal battle is to salvage the takeover. Should arbitration go our way, PCP Capital Partners should be able to get the green light to buy the club.
If Newcastle didn’t think they would win the arbitration hearing, why go through with it in the first place?
As for the consortium’s commitment to the deal, that has reportedly never gone away. At no point during this takeover saga has it been reported that any of the parties were no longer interested.
Yes, the Public Investment Fund walked away last July. But that was out of frustration towards the Premier League who were unwilling to make a decision as they conducted their Owners’ and Directors’ test.
When will we get a definitive update about the Newcastle takeover?
Until legal proceedings are completed, the club will remain in limbo.
While there may be ‘updates’ in the media, we won’t know what is happening until we discover the results of arbitration.
If it goes our way, there will be increased hope of a deal being completed this summer.
If it goes against us, attentions will turn to Ashley’s second legal battle – the anti-competition case.
The Newcastle takeover saga has rumbled on for more than a year now, and it is guaranteed to go on for at least another month.
July is when arbitration is set to take place. Until then, everything else should be taken with a pinch of salt and an element of scepticism.
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