British Billionaire Offers US$263M For Newcastle United

Billionaire Offers US$263M For Newcastle United

Sports Direct Deputy Exec Chair & Founder Mike Ashley has offered US$263M for English Premier League club Newcastle United. The move came after Ashley said he had bought a 41.6% stake in the team from Newcastle President Sir John Hall’s family for over US$109.2M. Earlier this year, Ashley earned over US$1.78B “after the flotation of his Sports Direct retail chain” (BBC.co.uk, 5/23). In London, Nick Harris notes Ashley has “never been known to borrow to build any of his companies and he paid the Hall family in cash.” There is “no prospect that a takeover would be leveraged against club assets, like the buy-outs at Manchester United and Liverpool.” London Stock Exchange rules mean that Ashley “now has to make a cash offer for the remaining shares,” about 29.8% of which belong to Newcastle Chair Freddy Shepherd. If “things run smoothly, Ashley should take full control before the Premiership season starts in August, but Shepherd’s stance will make or break the deal.” Shepherd has “shown little inclination to sell,” and has resisted past takeover approaches (London INDEPENDENT, 5/24).