Two vie to buy Newcastle United in weeks

Nov 5 2008 by Sam Wood, The Journal

TWO serious contenders to buy Newcastle United have come forward, it emerged last night.

Keith Harris, chairman of investment bank Seymour Pierce and the man in charge of negotiations to sell the club, said that out of a number of expressions of interest, there were now two main contenders and he hoped a deal could be completed by the new year.

Owner Mike Ashley is reportedly seeking £250m for the club and while Harris would not name those involved, he believes a sale will go through soon.

Both contenders are from overseas, but neither has yet reached the stage of conducting due diligence, the process of looking at the details of the club’s accounts. Both have approached Harris through reputable law firms.

Mr Harris said at the FT Sport Industry Summit in London: “We have two very serious contenders to buy it.

“This is the serious interest stage and if you don’t have serious interest, you don’t have due diligence. In a world like this it is no longer people just having a look at the tyres.

“In January we have that month of buying and selling players, so I would imagine if I were a prospective owner I would want to own it either in time to have an influence on what happens in January, or at a time when I can assess what has happened in January.”

Mr Harris admitted the financial crisis had made selling the club more difficult but said Mr Ashley was still committed to the sale – for the right price.

He insisted there had been no attempt so far to seek a much lower sale price.

“Mike’s position is straightforward – if he can sell it to the right buyer at the right price, he will sell it.

“The crisis makes everything difficult, we are all affected by it. Any investment decision you take with a lot of analysis and then a big swallow and a big dose of optimism.

“The contenders know what the ball-park figure is. It’s like putting your house up for sale for £200,000 knowing that you will accept £180,000. Has the £200,000 come down to £100,000? We haven’t experienced that.

“It’s more a question of do I want or need to buy a new house?”

Mr Harris said many prospective bidders who had initially surfaced had swiftly disappeared.

“We have had Nigerians that don’t exist and South Africans told by the media they were bidding.”

He also confirmed that the credit crunch meant Dubai-based companies were unlikely to move for Premier League clubs at the moment.

Last night Steve Wraith, former fans’ liaison officer and editor of the Players Inc fanzine, said it was exciting news for the club. “This is what everyone wanted to hear.

“Our squad is still threadbare and we need to buy players in January to be able to get back to where we should be.

“This could be an exciting time for the club. Hopefully whoever comes in will put us on the same footing as Manchester City are at.”