The Newcastle Board of Directors issued a statement this afternoon – which indicated (not very surprisingly) they will be considering the takeover offer from Mike Ashley shortly. In these situations the Board has to be fairly prompt in either accepting the offer – of rejecting the offer – so we would expect an answer fairly quickly – hopefully within the next few days.
We’ve also found a recent photograph of potential new owner Mike Ashley – who apparently guards his privacy – and does not allow many photographs to be taken of him.
If he is successful in his bid to buy Newcastle United – that may need to change.
The big question on Tyneside now of course is will Freddy Shepherd – after 10 years as Chairman – finally sell his shares to would-be owner Mike Ashley.
Mike Ashley
Certainly we believe there is going to be increased pressure from Newcastle fans for Shepherd to sell his shares – and it is no secret that many put the lack of success of Newcastle over the last ten years down to the rather inept running of the club by Shepherd.
It would not surprise us if there were even demonstrations for Shepherd to sell his shares – such is the current excitement on Tyneside of having money injected into the club – which we are of course assuming will happen – should Ashley take over.
We would say it’s more likely than not that Shepherd will sell – and the decision will be made fairly quickly.
For the record here is the official statement from the Board – issued this afternoon.
The Board of Newcastle United notes the announcement by SJHL regarding its acquisition of 55,342,223 Newcastle United shares at a price of 100 pence per ordinary share, and the terms of a mandatory cash offer of 100 pence per ordinary share in accordance with the provisions of Rule 9 of the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers (the “Code”) for all of the issued and to be issued share capital of Newcastle United which is not already owned by SJHL.
The Board of Newcastle United will meet to consider the offer shortly. Newcastle United shareholders are urged to take no further action at this stage.
A further announcement will be made in due course.
As usual we appreciate any comments on this.
8 comments so far
crazydave
May 24, 2007 at 7:04 AM
Comment #1If Shepherd loves the club as much as he says, he should let Ashley buy his shares and let the club move on to a bright new future
Ed Harrison
May 24, 2007 at 8:41 AM
Comment #2crazydave – think you are absolutely correct – however initial reaction from Shepherd is one of defiance – if this continues we should mount a protest to Shepherd – because we all really know he’ll sell when its in his best interests and not Newcastle’s.
SS
May 24, 2007 at 8:54 AM
Comment #3There seem to be two main themes running through the blogs regarding this announcement.
1) Freddie Shepherd is responsible for everything that has gone wrong with the club – ever, and is so incompetent its a wonder he can tie his own shoelaces etc etc
2) Ashley has $4B so think how many players we could buy with that, and maybe we could have a new stand with comfy seats etc etc
Well hold on a minute everyone and consider a few things.
Mr Shepherd, has certainly been involved in a few public gaffs which have brought embarassment on the club, but when it comes to funding of players there can surely be no complaints on that. Compare recent times to the days when SJP had a one-way revolving door through which, messers Waddle, Beardsley, Gascoigne etc etc regularly disappeared. How many times have NUFC been involved in high profile purchases and broken transfer records in recent years ? Maybe there is a tendency for us to buy the biggest cake in the shop, rather than the tastiest, but if we have learnt anything , it is that throwing money at the club does not buy success.
…and another thing – I havent read the stock market rules, but I dont believe that Ashley is obliged to spend his entire $4B on the club, or indeed to spend a single penny… and you dont get to accumulate $4B by being stupid with your money. I would guess this guy is responsible for the sale of more £50 rip off replica shirts to toon fans than the current administration…….. So even if he is successful, lets not assume he is going to be a generous uncle who slips us £20M each week to get some sweets….
Having said that though….. its time for a change and I hope it goes through for him, but lets not expect miracles…
George Davison
May 24, 2007 at 9:38 AM
Comment #4Maybe at long last the sun is shinning down on us. A new owner, a new manager and new players. Sound familiar. Remember when John Hall took over, all three happened then so why not again, only this time learn from the old mistakes. You can not argue with the quality under Keegan. John Halls leadership, albeit brief, was better than the days of Westwood, and certainly the players were a different class. So i for one am all for this take over and the sooner the better to help Sam Allerdyce. I only ask that Sam does not make the same mistake as Keegan and that is disperse with the reserve side. That was a big mistake of Keegans and a costly one. Otherwise “come on the toon were on the up again”
Ed Harrison
May 24, 2007 at 3:38 PM
Comment #5SS – not at all. But Ashley does have significant money to cover the debt Newcastle has (₤60M) and obviously enough to buy the club at 100p per share – which is about ₤133M.
But in football you don’t need billions – so the fact Abramovich has 10B and Ashley has 2B is completely irrelevant. Also Newcastle doesn’t need to do what Abramovich did when he bought about 11 players when he took over in summer 2003. If Mike clears the debt – and gives Sam around ₤30M or ₤40M – that would be great. Not sure Sam will be able to spend that much in any case – never mind more. What we need from Sam is an improved team – and we think his man management skills will go a long way – with the players already at the club.
crazydave
May 24, 2007 at 7:57 PM
Comment #6SS – If you check on his Shops websites you will find he sell his shirts for about £9 cheaper than elsewhere. He was also the guy who started the investigation in to fans been ripped off for football shirts by reporting Wigna aand Man Utd. If your going to say something do a little bit research first
Ed Harrison
May 24, 2007 at 9:38 PM
Comment #7Hey – does that mean we can buy cheaper shirts !
Swablr
Jan 9, 2022 at 1:45 PM
Comment #8Posters! You’ve no idea the horror that’s heading NUFCs way….the horror,…the horror.