Billionare buys into NUFC

[kennethlindheim]

Pennywise, what's your opinion about Mike Ashley and the potentially new era?

[Pennywise]

It depends what he wants to do with this club.

He has capital, no doubt about that, but what is his goals? He runs plenty of other projects and will he only focus on N'castle United...or is this just a brick in his puzzle?

This can go both ways. You can find both positive and negative sides with this takeover.

But even Fat Fred is very controversial, do not forget that he is the man who have used most money the recent years....not just in England...but in Europe.

The problem with Fat Fred is that he has hired some horrible managers after SIR Bobby. Now we've (hopefully) the best manager after Robson.

Mike Ashley is not a Geordie(?) and originally(?) N'castle supporter, but if he can liberate money to new players and do a better job in the managment, welcome to the club IMO .

[kennethlindheim]

For three weeks ago there were only darkness at the club. Suddenly in a periode of one week we've got Big Sam and maybe a chairman worth 2billions. For first time for a very long time I'm finally optimistic regarding the future.

[skeeta]

Sports Direct was one of the largest IPOs in Europe this year. Ashley made over 900 million quid. I don't think the City is giving that kind of money to people who won't appear in public anymore.

Not having a CFO at investor meetings is highly unusual. The pr firm thing may be a red herring, and the adidas investment is not necessarily a conflict. The "return of shares", however, is outright weird. I have no clue what it means.

He certainly has the cash (the total seems to be in the range of 135 million sterling), but I wouldn't be surprised at all if he is financing all or part of it. One needs to wait for an announcement or the bid document to appear.

[barracuda]

Originally Posted by oxfordblues

zola poyet desailly(world cup winner)di-matteo lebeouf(world cup winner)so think before you talk shite,i could add more but you`d look daftno i will add more,vialli guillit mark hughes babayaro(10 years ago)

And what exactly did they achive with Chelsea? The names are impressive but several where over the top when they got to Chelsea.

[Hutchs' throw ins]

Well the FA Cup, Top three position, CL placing for starters...

Originally Posted by barracuda

Money can attract anything, just look at Chelsea. Who wanted to go there 5-10 years ago?

Thats the way of the world. Professional football now is first and foremost a business. It has the football element attached as a secondary afterthought.


I don't know what you do, but whatever it is if another employer offers you more money you'd take it, no ?

[Mighty T.A.L.]

Ashley confident of Newcastle takeover without Shepherd approval

Sports tycoon Mike Ashley believes he can take control of Newcastle United - without the support of chairman Freddy Shepherd.

The sports shop magnate bought a near 42 per cent stake in the club from Sir John Hall on Wednesday for £55m.

Ashley has effectively offered Shepherd almost £38m to acquire his near 30 per cent stake in the club, but his advisors believe he will get the backing of enough shareholders to pass the 50 per cent ownership that will effectively signal the end of the Shepherd era anyway, says the Daily Mail.

There are also suggestions he may have been buying small pockets of shares in the build up to his buy-out of the Hall family.

In an on-line poll, more than 96 per cent of Newcastle fans believe a takeover will be good for the club, ending Shepherd's decade in charge at St James' Park.

Source: tribalfootball.com

[kennethlindheim]

I hope this war between Ashley and Fat Fred don't last to long. That will ruin the clubs pre-season and Big Sams transfer activities.

[kennethlindheim]

Tycoon Mike Ashley may have to remain patient as he attempts to push through his takeover of Newcastle.

Ashley's efforts to gain complete control of the club may be held up by current chairman Freddy Shepherd's incapacity as he recovers from a fractured rib.

Shepherd was out of circulation when news of St James' Holdings Limited's £133.1million takeover bid broke on Wednesday and, although a board meeting has been called, it is as yet unclear when that will take place.

The board of Newcastle plc will issue a recommendation to shareholders after discussing the offer, which amounts to around £77.8million for the remaining shares.

While City analysts do not believe Ashley will have any difficulty in reaching the 50%-plus mark which was the condition of his 100p-a-share offer, Shepherd's decision - he holds a stake of around 29.8% - will be key to his hopes of acquiring the 75% he would need to make full control almost inevitable.

Ashley's investment has prompted hopes on the part of the fans that he could be prepared to pour more of his estimated £1.9billion fortune into strengthening on the pitch.

Manager Sam Allardyce, who was himself taken by surprise by this week's developments as he was on holiday, is already planning his summer spending, but may yet have a bigger-than-expected budget with which to play.

http://www.teamtalk.com/football/sto...148338,00.html

[kennethlindheim]

Mike Ashley set foot in St James’ Park today for the first time as his takeover of Newcastle United gathered pace.

The current board are now considering the 42-year-old’s £133million offer for the Magpies.

The meeting was expected to be on Friday afternoon and the sports tycoon wasn’t scheduled to be involved in the talks with the current board.

But in a surprise twist the billionaire turned up at Gallowgate to take part in a "useful and constructive discussion."

Freddy Shepherd was, however, absent from the showdown meeting with the current chairman represented by his brother Bruce Shepherd and reportedly other board members Steve Walton and Timothy Revill.

A full statement from the club said today: "Further to the announcement by Newcastle United PLC ("Newcastle United") on 25 May 2007, the Board of Newcastle United announces that there was a meeting with Mike Ashley and his team earlier today at which there was a useful and constructive discussion.

"The Board will now consider its response to the offer from St James Holdings Limited.

"A further announcement will be made in due course."

icNewcastle - Mike Ashley meets with board

[kennethlindheim]

FREDDY Shepherd is expected to sell his 28 per cent stake in Newcastle United to Mike Ashley within the next 24 hours.

But rather than fading into the background at St James' Park, Shepherd is expected to remain in his current role as a paid chairman.

Shepherd will receive more than £37m for his stake in the Magpies, with his decision to sell effectively handing sole control of the club to Ashley.

The billionaire businessman will still offer the club's remaining shareholders £1-a-share in an attempt to cross the 90 per cent ownership threshold that will enable him to take the club off the stock market and back into private hands.

Shepherd Ready To Sell (from The Northern Echo)

[kennethlindheim]

Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd has this morning agreed to sell his shares in the Barclays Premier League club to billionaire Mike Ashley.
Shepherd will receive more than £37.6million for his family's stake, which amounts to more than 28 per cent, with the sale raising Ashley's holding in United to a little under 70 per cent.

The Board at St James' Park have recommended that Ashley's 101 pence per share offer be accepted by the remaining shareholders, with the sportswear tycoon requiring 75 per cent to trigger a full takeover of the club.

A statement issued by Shepherd, read: "The offer from SJHL (St James Holdings Limited - Ashley's company) is at a level which fully reflects both the performance of Newcastle and its prospects and ambitions for the future.

"The board believes that SJHL and Mike Ashley will be excellent custodians of Newcastle United's heritage and will provide the best possible opportunity for the club to flourish in the future, to the benefit of the company and its fans."

SJHL will post the offer document to shareholders today.

Ashley emerged as a potential new owner when he paid Sir John Hall and his family £55million for their 41.6 per cent stake last month.

Ready, Freddy, go: Shepherd sells his Newcastle shares to Ashley for £37million | the Daily Mail

Interesting times ahead! Never been so excited for a season! I cant believe what is happening at the club compared to what? 2 months ago?

[russe||]

Originally Posted by kennethlindheim

I like that he's not a media whore

Understatement of the century. This guy is almost a recluse.

I'm sure Newcastle could do a lot worse than having this bloke in charge though.

[red pisces]

Mike Ashley needs less than 13% of Newcastle's remaining shares to become the sole power broker at St James' Park.

The billionaire businessman is on course to take the club back into private ownership after yesterday increasing his stake to 77.06%.

The bulk of business involved the purchase of chairman Freddy Shepherd's 28.01% share, taking Ashley over the 75% required to de-list Newcastle from the London Stock Exchange.

Once he reaches the 90% mark, he will be able to force any remaining shareholders to sell up.

A statement from Ashley's investment vehicle, St James Holdings Limited, on the club's official website, Newcastle United | Home, read: "SJHL now intends to procure the making of an application by Newcastle United to the London Stock Exchange for the cancellation of trading of Newcastle United shares and to the UKLA [UK Listing Association] for the cancellation of Newcastle's listing."

This is expected to take effect on July 18.

On reaching the 90% mark, the statement added SJHL planned to "acquire compulsorily" the remainder of the shares if necessary.

Meanwhile, Newcastle have welcomed the findings of Lord Stevens' inquiry into Premier League transfers, which found no evidence to suggest any irregular payments by or to club officials.

However, the Quest team refused to sign off four transfers into St James' Park - those of Albert Luque, Emre, Jean Alain Boumsong and Amady Faye.

All took place while Graeme Souness was manager and the Quest report said inconsistencies remained in evidence provided by Souness and chairman Shepherd's son Kenneth over their roles in all but the Luque deal.

Souness responded through his solicitors by saying: "I cannot understand why my name features in this report.

"I volunteered full information to Quest as a witness and I have heard nothing further from them."

Newcastle said they "firmly supported the inquiry" and called on those agents referred to in the report to assist Quest in resolving their outstanding queries.

In terms of Luque's signing from Deportivo La Coruna, the inquiry had unanswered questions relating to possible payments made by agent Francis Martin, who Newcastle officials believed was working for the selling club.

The licensed agent acting on the club's behalf was Eugenio Botas.

In relation to Emre's move from Inter Milan, the inquiry was not prepared to clear the transfer as it was unable to obtain the co-operation of the lead agent, Ahmet Bulut.

In relation to Boumsong and Faye, Quest said those transfers involved payments to agent Willie McKay and, despite a degree of co-operation from McKay, the inquiry was still awaiting clarification in relation to various documents provided by him.

Friday's developments overshadowed the first words from Joey Barton as a Newcastle player.

The controversial midfielder finally completed his move from Manchester City on Wednesday after the clubs agreed a revised £5.8million fee.

The 24-year-old believes his new club are poised to gatecrash the Premier League's top four.

"I'm looking forward to next season already and the promise that it brings," he said.

"Everything is in place for this club to take off and join the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool.

"If anything, there are a 'big five' in this country and Newcastle United are one of them. If success is achieved here then the sky is limit."


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