Exclusive: The PCP Consortium view on Newcastle United takeover CAT case & deal push

An 18-month purgatory.

Newcastle United fans, their potential new owners-in-waiting and, however unpopular, the current owner Mike Ashley have been run through the mill over the course of the last year and a half.

And it all started when the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia agreed to buy an 80% stake in the club, alongside the Reuben Brothers and dealmakers PCP Capital Partners.

A deal to purchase the club that was all agreed back in March 2020, looked set to be passed by the Premier League in April, and soon ran aground in May and beyond.

And now, more than a year down the line, the first of two separate legal challenges to get the £300m+ deal forced through hits the courts. Arbitration may have been pushed to the ‘early 2022’ long grass, but the Competition Appeal Tribunal hearing to decide jurisdiction, and ultimately whether the case will run against the top flight, starts at 10.30am today.

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But what does this all mean for the four parties in the deal, Mike Ashley and the three members of the PCP Consortium?

Here we take a look at their stance on CAT, and thoughts on the deal moving forward.

Amanda Staveley, Mehrdad Ghodoussi & PCP Capital Partners

Since day one they have shared a confidence the deal will get passed.

After the recent summer push that seemed to waiver somewhat.

NewcastleWorld sources understand PCP’s stance on the CAT case is one of interest and hope but ultimately helplessness.

PCP and the other consortium members must trust Ashley and his legal teams to push the deal on, without the fingerprints of the buyers-in-waiting on this latest wave of attack.

PCP, it’s understood, reserve judgement on what comes next, until they’ve heard whether the CAT push is successful. They do, however, remain committed to the deal, according to sources.

The Reuben Brothers

While this is a Reuben Brothers 10% buyout, the main driver of things from this consortium member is Jamie Reuben. He is a former QPR board member, close friend of the PCP directors and massive football fan.

Again, the mood from within the Reubens’ camp, according to well-placed sources, is one of confidence.

When quizzed about the subject recently, one prominent member of the family empire claimed ‘we will get this deal’.

Mike Ashley, Justin Barnes & Newcastle United

They’ve spent a lot of cash on the legal push, but stand to make a hell of a lot more if the deal gets the green light. Getting it the green light is the biggest problem, though - and we all thought it was finding a buyer!

Many times over the last 12 months club sources have expressed their own confidence the deal will eventually be done, however things have gone very quiet on that front recently, despite media rumours to the contrary elsewhere.

The Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia

The quietest of all the parties - and the one which ultimately carries the most intrigue.

The only official, public communication remains the ‘pull out’ letter sent in late summer 2020.

While they have refrained from getting their hands dirty in the legal jousting, they are said to remain as silent, non-active watchers of the situation.

Only when a deal is presented to them, if that ever happens, will we truly know if PIF will stand by their word, given to other consortium members, to buy the club.