The Sunday Mirror is reporting today that Mike Ashley’s desire to keep the Newcastle United Football Club will be tested by a summer bid from the United States. But when you read this story take it all with a large pinch of salt, because it sounds hokey at best.
Mike Ashley – obviously delighted because he will be losing £60M – great!
The Sunday Mirror says that despite Ashley’s decision to take the club off the market after failing to find a buyer willing to pay a reasonable £250M, an offer from across the Atlantic will be tabled for the club, but only when the Premier League status is guaranteed for this season.
The bid is said to be from a New York-based consortium with a background in sports management. That could be a lot of different companies, but the Mirror says they are being advised by a senior figure in English football. Well that sounds tame, we could have made a more exciting story up than that one.
The bid would be in the region of £180M.
So we have to stop this story right there, because who in their rigtht mind would accept a bid of £180M, when Mike has put around £240M into the club, and the club has zero debt?
This sounds pure nonsense, but that shouldn’t be a surprise we suppose.
But wait – we have a statement from the proverbial inside source:
“The Americans are still seriously interested but like other consortia were not willing to bid until they knew what division Newcastle will be playing in next season,”
“They believe Newcastle was taken off the market and Joe Kinnear appointed until the end of the season to encourage some stability.”
“Ashley’s price was way too high in September and became increasingly unrealistic as the financial crisis heightened. But the Americans believe they can still do business, albeit at a price tag south of £200M.”
“And that would drop significantly if Newcastle were relegated. The Americans see a buyers’ market as the year progresses.”
Mike Ashley does not have to sell the club, so the Mirror’s argument that £180M is a good price in the current economic climate holds no water, and is meaningless.
Let’s get this right, a bid that loses him £60M on the transaction in less than two years is tempting? That’s certainly not the way Mike made his money, and he will be a shrewd guy in the money markets, we can be sure of that.
Anybody would be daft to sell for such a loss, and we don’t think Mike is a fool, far from it with money, although this story really stretches the credibility of some journalism – since it’s simply complete nonsense. You are only in trouble during bad economic times when you have to sell, because then you will almost certainly be losing money with the markets so depressed.
And if by the slightest of chances the story is true then we have to wonder what the Americans have been smoking recently. 😀
Comments welcome.
27 comments so far
jacob
Jan 4, 2009 at 11:59 AM
Comment #1I’m sick of telling people that Ashley HAS NOT paid off the club’s debt.
jacob
Jan 4, 2009 at 12:02 PM
Comment #2I also can’t wait to see what pound stretcher/bargain basement buys we have in store this January!
sirjasontoon
Jan 4, 2009 at 12:03 PM
Comment #3Boring,
can’t see Mike being back to watch a match anytime soon the way things are going : )
toon mad chris
Jan 4, 2009 at 12:07 PM
Comment #4jacob i couldnt agree more
Nick 69
Jan 4, 2009 at 12:09 PM
Comment #5zero debt? stop talkin nonsense ed ashley admitted the club has debt, and by the way i DO think mike is a fool, i mean look at what hes done over the last year at both NUFC and the rest of his life, hes lost probably about £1billion, and that to me is very foolish!!!
toon mad chris
Jan 4, 2009 at 12:10 PM
Comment #6i hope ashley does sell te club because we need good quality signings and i dont think mike ashley will give us he money
CLINT FLICK
Jan 4, 2009 at 12:12 PM
Comment #7Nowt to do with Ashley, wise, kinnear, the players, the press, a curse etc.
Its cuz i haven’t been wearing me lucky pants.
😀
toon mad chris
Jan 4, 2009 at 12:13 PM
Comment #8if mik ashley stays i can see us in the championship with barry ferguson as our captan
toon mad chris
Jan 4, 2009 at 12:15 PM
Comment #9and nobody want that to happen apart from the makems
Dennis Twice
Jan 4, 2009 at 12:16 PM
Comment #10Ash only makes a cash…..Toon in trouble!
2loans
1 buy
out:
Given
Zogbia
Owen
David_Barber
Jan 4, 2009 at 12:17 PM
Comment #11jacob: You are right MA has re-managed the debt-the debt is still there and it still needs paying off!! If however the Mirror’s story held ground-then for pure argument sake-the debt would be reduced by MA loss! I’m hoping that MA breaks even-so there is money in the transfer market-when new owners take over!! There is one benefit however-that is we are not paying inflated interest!! However this is not a normal way to run a business-but in today’s climate-it may be good that MA has less liquidity!!
wigaz
Jan 4, 2009 at 12:18 PM
Comment #12More BS probably by Ashley to get the price back up. Not holdin my breath for signings but we’ll soon see how ambitious we are? Bayern have set a £9.6m price tag on pudolski, lets go for him he can replace Owen who clearly wants away & it’s starting to effect his game as we saw not only just yesterday but last 3 games. Lets hope these irons in the fire as JK is calling them are done deals! but pudolski would be a good buy.
Alex
Jan 4, 2009 at 12:20 PM
Comment #13If this story was true which i doubt , then these yanks will not be big spenders . They are trying to get the club way under its true value . Why , because they themslves do not have the 250 million it will take to buy out Ashley , Which means they do not have money to spend big in transfers .
CLINT FLICK
Jan 4, 2009 at 12:22 PM
Comment #14If Ashley was a much a money-grabber as some make out, then surely, he would have brought out new shirts every season, for a start.
Maybe i’ve just give him an idea-But i doubt it.
toon mad chris
Jan 4, 2009 at 12:23 PM
Comment #15we should make a bid fo podolski before man citeh do
toon mad chris
Jan 4, 2009 at 12:28 PM
Comment #16wo does everyone thing would make good additions to ur squad
CLINT FLICK
Jan 4, 2009 at 12:28 PM
Comment #17Podolski is not coming to the Toon-Get realistic.
Nick
Jan 4, 2009 at 12:31 PM
Comment #18Ashley lost 300m in one day on HBOS shares.
Say that slowly!!!!!!!!!!!
So 60M to get rid is not out of the qustion. less when we go down.
CLINT FLICK
Jan 4, 2009 at 12:32 PM
Comment #19The only players that we should get in & would strengthen our squad, are players that WANT to be here. Over & out.
Ben_BKK
Jan 4, 2009 at 12:38 PM
Comment #20Podolski said he’d go to Cologne, and they’re a mid-table Bundesliga side…
CLINT FLICK
Jan 4, 2009 at 12:47 PM
Comment #21He speaks german.
Chris F
Jan 4, 2009 at 12:53 PM
Comment #22all ashley has done is phone up one of those companies that advertise during countdown so he’s got our debt in one, easy to manage payment a month.
the man has paid off sod all, has spent sod all and will spend sod all, yet will happily rake in ticket and amtch day income.
i have nothing but disgust for the man these days, his regime is a joke.
Chris F
Jan 4, 2009 at 12:55 PM
Comment #23Clint, the clubs aren’t the ones who control when new shirts come out, it’s the shirt supplier, which in our case is adidas (but if we keep going as we are will probably be Aldi)
you cant use that as a reason to explain why he isn’t a money-grabber.
Sav
Jan 4, 2009 at 3:20 PM
Comment #24Mike’s no mug.
He’ll fool those yanks by taking us down so we’re actually worth LESS than the 180 million. Smart fella.
Lovely picture by the way, Ed.
valle
Jan 4, 2009 at 3:40 PM
Comment #25We also have to look at another perspective… Buyers, who dont come out and the open and wants a bargain?… It dosnt sound like people who have the financial power to take us further than Fat Ash
shay please leave
Jan 4, 2009 at 7:50 PM
Comment #26lets start a whip round to rasie 60mill and pay him to never come back
Toon Graeme
Jan 4, 2009 at 7:51 PM
Comment #27What a load of b*llocks!!!