Seven bidders are lining up for club
Oct 6 2008 by Sam Wood, The Journal
BIDDERS from the US, the Middle and Far East are now thought to be among the frontrunners for the Newcastle United takeover.
And it is believed the club have set a deadline of tomorrow for serious offers to be made, in an effort to finish the takeover by mid-November.
Newcastle fans may be feeling slightly better this morning, after the club’s impressive fightback from being two goals down at Everton to claim a point for a draw yesterday.
That result gave Joe Kinnear’s regime a welcome kick-start, but with the club still in the bottom three of the Premier League, fans are anxious for a takeover to go through so the club can move forward.
At present there are believed to be seven potential bidders.
It appears that the businessmen said to be involved with a takeover from South Africa have all ruled themselves out.
On Friday billionaire Johann Rupert, the man behind Swiss-owned luxury goods company Richemont, rubbished reports that he has his eyes on succeeding Mike Ashley as owner at St James’s Park.
Mr Rupert said he wouldn’t be surprised if the entire bid was fake. The South African bid was among the favourites for the takeover last week. It is also believed a solid bid from Nigeria, led by Chris Nathaniel, has failed to materialise.
Mike Ashley is believed to want between £280m and £300m for Newcastle United. He put the club up for sale after the sudden departure of manager Kevin Keegan, but has insisted on getting the right price.
The Sunday papers were again awash with various rumours coming out of the club, with one suggesting that a return for Kevin Keegan was imminent once the club has changed hands. And after yesterday’s game, Joe Kinnear reiterated his threat to refuse to talk to the national papers, whom he accused of stirring up trouble.
He said: “I don’t mind talking to the radio and the television but the Press just stir things up.”
Kinnear also praised his players for the way they fought back to claim a point.
He said: “We showed great character to get back in the game.”
