The Prime Minister of United Kingdom Boris Johnson has urged the Premier League to explain why the proposed takeover of Newcastle United by Saudi Arabia backed-consortium failed.
Recall that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), PCP Capital Partners, and Reuben Brothers issued a statement late in July to announced that they have pulled out of their proposed takeover of the Premier League. The negotiation for the proposed takeover which was worth £300 million lasted for close to 5 months.
Hence, Saudi Arabia backed-consortium said in their statement that they decided to back out of the negotiation due to how protracted it was becoming amid the coronavirus pandemic which has changed the way business is being done.
The failure of the takeover process did not go down well for Newcastle United’s fans who believed that the takeover would have changed the fortunes of the club and helped them to compete not just in the Premier League but in Europe.
In a follow up to their agitations against the failure of the takeover which they blamed on Premier League’s cumbersome process, over 6,000 Newcastle United Supporters Trust (NUST) members wrote petitions to their local Members of Parliament urging them to intervene. Also, the supporters trust wrote to the Premier League requesting for a meeting between NUST and the league body over the failed takeover deal.
More so, the supporters trust numbering about 97,000 people signed a petition which urged the UK government to set up an independent panel to investigate what transpired between the Premier League and the Saudi Arabia back consortium in order to ascertain why the deal failed.
Boris Johnson Calls for Clarification over the failed takeover of Newcastle United
In his reaction, Boris Johnson said he understands the sense of disappointment the fans of Newcastle United felt over the failure of the proposed takeover. He Urged the Premier League to issue a statement to provide clarity on the cause of the failure.
“I appreciate that many Newcastle fans were hoping this takeover bid would go ahead and can understand their sense of disappointment,” Boris Johnson said.
“I have seen the recent email sent to Newcastle fans from the Independent Football Ombudsman and agree with their conclusion that the Premier League should make a statement on this case. I am pleased that the Ombudsman has committed to advising the Premier League to provide a statement.
“There must be clarity on why there was a significant delay in a decision being made, and on the reasons why the consortium decided to withdraw their bid.”
As at the time of publishing this report, the Premier League was yet to issue a statement to make any clarify as it was directed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Since the takeover has failed, Mike Ashley still remains the owner of the Premier League club.
