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Takeover Thread - July 1st statement, Staveley letter to Tracey Crouch (and response) in OP


Will the takeover be complete by this summer?  

312 members have voted

  1. 1. Will the takeover be complete by this summer?

    • Yes
      87
    • No
      183


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Boom !

 

 

No chance of written assurances before they actually have a (new) case to consider surely?

 

Can you guys post the whole article here?

 

The Premier League is vulnerable to legal action from Mike Ashley for effectively derailing the Newcastle United takeover, intermediaries in the collapsed deal believe.

 

Those close to the process believe England's top tier is in an "impossible position" as chief executive Richard Masters comes under sustained pressure to explain why the league's directors and owners' test hit a four-month impasse.

 

The league has consistently maintained privately that it took an "objective" approach to the proposed £300 million deal, but the Saudi sovereign investment fund behind the takeover is said to feel the delay was a thinly-veiled attempt to make the takeover impossible. The Public Investment Fund (PIF)  eventually walked away after being unable to satisfy the league that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was not involved.

 

Ashley remains desperate to revive the deal, but PIF would now consider returning to talks only in the unlikely event that the league provides written assurances that it was finally ready to let the deal go through.

 

As hopes fade, however, those closest to the negotiations say the other option is for Ashley to pursue a potential damages claim against the league, given he is said to have received assurances from it in April that there were "no red flags" to the proposed takeover.

 

It is an unprecedented situation for the Premier League, which neither passed nor failed the prospective buyers, but, with MPs and fans groups now demanding answers, Masters is under mounting pressure to explain on the record why the process was so drawn out. Those involved in the deal believe such a statement remains "hugely unlikely" to state on the record which way the process was heading due to the legal ramifications.

 

"It is becoming an impossible situation for the PL," said one source close to talks, who cited the case of BeIn, the Qatari broadcaster which was vehemently opposed to the deal due to Saudi Arabia's failure to prevent the BeOutQ piracy scandal.  "The league is desperate to hang on to keeping their process secret because they have Ashley's lawyers circling in one corner and BeIN Sports in the other."

 

PIF, Amanda Staveley and the Reuben Brothers withdrew their offer to buy the club on July 30, prompting thousands of fans, the Newcastle United Supporters' Trust (NUST), the Independent Football Ombudsman and at least 40 MPs to demand answers.

 

Ashley previously said he remains "100 per cent committed" to the sale, with the club's managing director, Lee Charnley, issuing a brief statement a day after the collapse of the takeover to suggest the deal may still be resurrected.

 

The Premier League has already offered independent arbitration, rejected by the bidders, who say their ownership structure - with the PIF an independent investment vehicle as set out in its charter - and business plan were clear.

 

There have been renegotiations over the sale price, which was just above £300m having originally been agreed at £340m before the coronavirus pandemic struck, but this was not a deal-breaker and relations between the bidders and Ashley remained good. The Premier League declined to comment.

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Guest Cheesy Beans

Feels weird being on the same side as MA.

 

But as we know, his complete twattishness will see him get his own way. The PL are now backed into a corner with the options to either approve the takeover or be sued to high heavens by MA.

 

It’s another indication this isn’t dead yet, MA would have his papers filed at court within seconds of this deal being over.

 

Weird how Mauris has fell off the face of the Earth though.... Edwards said he was ready to buy the second that the PIF deal was in trouble.

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Guest Cheesy Beans

Absolutely nothing article that.

 

A clear Bishop piece intended to keep the pressure on with threats of legal action - does the job perfectly and follows up on the SSN piece from yesterday.

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Absolute nothing article that.

 

Well I was curious about this line.

 

"The Premier League has already offered independent arbitration, rejected by the bidders, who say their ownership structure - with the PIF an independent investment vehicle as set out in its charter - and business plan were clear.

"

 

Have not seen any mention of that before, and why reject a potential arbitration that might actually agree with them?

 

As far as I can tell the Crown Prince WhateverHisNameIs appointed the director of PIF to run the investment vehicle and doesn't interfere with it. By what right does the PL have to say "We don't believe you".

If you go back to that interview with the PIF director, it was posted, he describes how he was appointed and what his remit was for the PIF. He seems to be doing a brilliant job. NUFC would be a tiny slice of PIF's investment portfolio, why the fuck would the Crown Prince be interfering at all.

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Absolute nothing article that.

 

Well I was curious about this line.

 

"The Premier League has already offered independent arbitration, rejected by the bidders, who say their ownership structure - with the PIF an independent investment vehicle as set out in its charter - and business plan were clear.

"

 

Have not seen any mention of that before, and why reject a potential arbitration that might actually agree with them?

 

As far as I can tell the Crown Prince WhateverHisNameIs appointed the director of PIF to run the investment vehicle and doesn't interfere with it. By what right does the PL have to say "We don't believe you".

If you go back to that interview with the PIF director, it was posted, he describes how he was appointed and what his remit was for the PIF. He seems to be doing a brilliant job. NUFC would be a tiny slice of PIF's investment portfolio, why the f*** would the Crown Prince be interfering at all.

 

I would imagine that the PLs argument would be that if the Crown Prince appointed the head of the PIF then presumably he could also sack* him and hire somebody else instead if he became dissatisfied with, for example, the PIFs strategy. If so then there is an argument that the head of the PIF has to do what the crown prince wants and the PIF is therefore in effect under the control od the Crown Prince. Obviously this all depends on the finer details of the operation/structure of the PIF etc.

 

I was also intrigued by the phrase you highlighted in bold. If it's true it doesn't look good does it.

 

*was going to write terminate here then realised it could be open to misinterpretation...

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Absolute nothing article that.

 

Well I was curious about this line.

 

"The Premier League has already offered independent arbitration, rejected by the bidders, who say their ownership structure - with the PIF an independent investment vehicle as set out in its charter - and business plan were clear.

"

 

Have not seen any mention of that before, and why reject a potential arbitration that might actually agree with them?

 

As far as I can tell the Crown Prince WhateverHisNameIs appointed the director of PIF to run the investment vehicle and doesn't interfere with it. By what right does the PL have to say "We don't believe you".

If you go back to that interview with the PIF director, it was posted, he describes how he was appointed and what his remit was for the PIF. He seems to be doing a brilliant job. NUFC would be a tiny slice of PIF's investment portfolio, why the fuck would the Crown Prince be interfering at all.

The arbitration quote also caught my eye.  We have them ( The EPL) bang to rights!
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What’s the next step from PIF, Staveley, etc then? They asked the fans to act, they’ve done so in a way I doubt they’d never have expected. Has to be in their court now.

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What’s the next step from PIF, Staveley, etc then? They asked the fans to act, they’ve done so in a way I doubt they’d never have expected. Has to be in their court now.

 

Are they not sitting back and allowing Mike to do his bit at the minute. I get the impression Ashley is between the PL and PIF trying to get them back talking. Sounds like PIF want cast iron guarantees before returning though.

 

I think this depends on how under pressure the PL genuinely feel at the minute, again I come back to what is the easiest option for them.

 

At this point that boils down to who is more likely to take legal action Ashley or Bein. That’s why I think these veiled threats from Ashley are appearing in papers.

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We all know that MBS needs to be part of the O & D test. It's obvious, he needs to be tested. Its telling that this is not happening as it would solve the problem easily. Unless of course he will fail it. I would love to know why though, legally speaking that is.

 

That article is worrying to be honest. The premier league is not going to write any assurances, why would they.

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What’s the next step from PIF, Staveley, etc then? They asked the fans to act, they’ve done so in a way I doubt they’d never have expected. Has to be in their court now.

 

It’s over. That’s it. They’ve moved on. Lock the thread etc.

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Was weird of Staveley to say it's our responsibility in the first place. I'd say that's it and she's now firmly 0-2.

 

Ashley will want to push the story through to October to avoid more dissent among those pesky fans who dare to complain about us heading for relegation. Its back to just be usual fakeover distraction now.

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