Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund has taken over Newcastle United FC after it received approval from the UK’s Premier League following a year and a half wait.
It comes a day after Bloomberg News reported that a major stumbling block to the deal had been removed by Saudi Arabia agreeing to lift a broadcasting ban on Qatar-based BeIn Media Group.
“Following the completion of the Premier League’s Owners’ and Directors’ Test, the club has been sold to the consortium with immediate effect,” the league said in a statement on Thursday.
The head of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Yasir Al Rumayyan, will become a non-executive chairman of Newcastle United.
“We are extremely proud to become the new owners of Newcastle United, one of the most famous clubs in English football,” Al Rumayyan (pictured below) said in a separate statement. “We thank the Newcastle fans for their tremendously loyal support over the years and we are excited to work together with them.”
Jamie Reuben, the son of billionaire businessman David Reuben, and Amanda Staveley, the financier who courted a deal with Newcastle United on behalf of the Saudi Public Investment Fund, will also join the Newcastle United board.
Qatar-based BeIN had been a major opponent of a Newcastle takeover, arguing to the UK Premier League that the Saudi ban and alleged piracy of BeIn content was doing massive damage to sports rights holders. The Saudis walked away from the Newcastle talks in July 2020, citing prolonged regulatory issues and the pandemic.
The Premier League had sought reassurances over the independence of the PIF as owners, given its status as a state-owned investment fund.
“The Premier League has now received legally binding assurances that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will not control Newcastle United Football Club,” the Premier League said in the statement.
Staveley and Reuben were set to acquire a 10 percent stake each in the team, while PIF was poised to take an 80 percent shareholding, people with knowledge of the matter said earlier.
Reuben was a non-executive director at west London soccer club QPR before stepping down in October 2020, according to the team’s website.
Spokespeople for the PIF and Reuben could not be reached for comment. A spokesman for Staveley declined to comment.
The new owners take control at Newcastle a few weeks into the season, with the team currently positioned one place above the bottom. Each year, three out of the Premier League’s 20 teams get relegated, with a consequent drop in broadcast and other income.
Follow us on
