Mike Ashley is ready to pull the plug on Bellagraph Nova Group’s limp attempt to buy Newcastle United.
The Paris-based group, which claimed it had consulted Alan Shearer to inform them of a possible acquisition, did not increase its original £ 280m offer as the proposal did not go beyond Ashley’s legal team.
The toon owner all but lost patience with American TV mogul Henry Mauriss after Clear TV’s CEO paid legal fees. However, after speaking to Ashley and his close adviser Chris Ronnie, he is yet to meet his oral agreement to buy the Magpies for £ 350m earlier in the year.
Ashley is still reluctant to take the club off the market, however, and while he hasn’t had a public comment yet, his burning desire is still to sell United.
Behind the scenes, Ashley has accepted that he will be in charge of Newcastle at the start of the season and for the remainder of the summer transfer window, which has been extended to October this year.
It means Ashley still needs to make improvements on the bankroll team, but he has given Steve Bruce his word that he will support this over the coming weeks and months.
Sources close to the Bellagraph Nova Group claim they are trying to get their business going quietly and are desperate to grant Ashley’s wish to keep developments out of the press.
Claims that the deal was being tackled by Michael Chopra has been downplayed by Bellagraph Nova Group staff, but the ex-Sunderland and Cardiff striker had conversations with them earlier this month.
The group claims talks with Ashley about their legal teams continue, but the toon owner has been known to have run out of patience previously and is about to move on from another chaotic takeover scenario.
Ashley is still in Miami but in constant dialogue with close advisor Justin Barnes in the UK.
It is expected that potential new buyers could be found this fall.
Ashley has yet to build on his brief statement about the collapse of the Middle East takeover consortium this summer. Amanda Staveley, the Reuben brothers, and the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund withdraw from the Premier League owner and director test.
Ashley urged the group to make a decision to the Premier League by providing the information they requested about who the club would belong to. The situation is still being parked by the potential bidders, however, and their PR firm Smithfields said this week that they had not been informed of the consortium’s next move.
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