PETER KENYON is focusing on investors based in the United States as he looks to put together a consortium capable of buying Newcastle United.
Kenyon is working for consultancy firm, Opto Advisers, and has been instructed to source potential funding avenues for a formal bid to buy out Mike Ashley, who continues to claim he is willing to sell up if his demands are met.
The former Manchester United chief executive has formerly assisted Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson in an advisory capacity, and boasts contacts across the globe.
There has previously been considerable interest in Newcastle United from the Middle East, and an ongoing court case involving Mike Ashley and former Magpies director Tony Jimenez recently heard that the pair attended a series of meetings in Dubai to discuss the possible sale of the club.
However, a source close to Kenyon claims his current discussions are focused on the United States rather than the Gulf as he believes there is a greater chance of immediate investment from interested parties in the US.
Kenyon is understood to have received expressions of interest from at least two different groups, but remains a long way off being able to make a formal approach to Ashley and his advisers.
The Newcastle hierarchy greeted news of Kenyon’s interest with a fair degree of scepticism when it broke on Saturday morning, and having been frustrated at Amanda Staveley’s public courting of the club last season, there is a determination not to be drawn into another long-running saga that eventually goes nowhere.
Ashley has previously suggested he is willing to drop his asking price from £400m to closer to £300m, but despite his own lack of investment over the last few years, the sportswear magnate continues to insist he will only sell to a group with ‘sufficient funds to take Newcastle forward’.
What that means in practice is hard to discern, but it is likely to mean Ashley demands proof of funds above and beyond what it would take to buy him out.
Newcastle’s position in the Premier League relegation zone will be a factor that potential investors will have to take into account, as even if Kenyon was able to raise sufficient funds to table a bid, the requirement for a formal period of due diligence would make it extremely difficult for new owners to make a transformative investment into the playing squad during the January transfer window.
When Staveley was involved in discussions last autumn, it was suggested that Ashley might be prepared to underwrite January transfer spending if he knew a sale was imminent. However, talks did not reach an advanced enough stage for that theory to be put to the test.
Staveley has not attempted to rekindle her interest since discussions collapsed at the end of last year, and the PCP Capital Partners Group chief does not intend to become involved with Kenyon’s attempts to put a consortium together.
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