Newcastle United

Newcastle United: Ben Jacobs discusses Mike Ashley’s risk with the proposed takeover

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Image for Newcastle United: Ben Jacobs discusses Mike Ashley’s risk with the proposed takeover

Journalist Ben Jacobs has been speaking to Gallowgate Shots about Mike Ashley’s ‘gamble’ with the proposed takeover of Newcastle United by PCP Capital Partners, PIF and the Reuben brothers.

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The deal for Ashley to sell the Toon to this group was agreed in April 2020, but the offer was withdrawn in last July after talks with the Premier League hit an impasse.

Since then, Ashley has dismissed all other bids and remains fully committed to this deal because the consortium agreed to pay the Toon’s owner £300m.

In fact, he is so determined to get the deal through that he has launched two legal challenges against the Premier League to force through the takeover.

However, Jacobs believes that Ashley is taking a risk by putting all his eggs in one basket.

He said: “Mike Ashley has, in many ways, taken a bit of a gamble, because he’s put all of his eggs in the PIF-led takeover.

“And as a consequence, if it doesn’t succeed, two things will have happened. One, other potential suitors have been warded off during this process because Mike Ashley is clearly confident of getting the takeover over the line. But the other thing is the price of the football club has dropped significantly.

“So now, Mike Ashley has to try and get this takeover over the line because Newcastle United is no longer worth £300m; it might only be worth half that, even as a Premier League club.”

Do you think that Ashley has risked too much?

No, as it will pay off

No, as it will pay off

Yes, we could be stuck with him for even longer

Yes, we could be stuck with him for even longer

TIF Thoughts on Ashley…

If what Jacobs says is true, you can understand why Ashley is determined to get this deal done because it will make him a lot more money.

If this takeover fails and the Toon’s value has fallen, we wouldn’t be surprised if he stayed for at least a few more years until the value increased again, which could be very painful for Newcastle fans given their animosity towards him.

So, this is clearly a risky game that Ashley is playing, but if he wins and pulls it off, he walks away with £300m and leaves the Toon to grow as a football club.

Therefore, in our view, this may be a risk worth taking for all concerned.

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