Newcastle United: PIF could now cash in on £1.5bn takeover offer after LIV Golf update
Newcastle United’s owners could accept a takeover bid worth up to £1.5billion for the club.
That is according to former Manchester City financial adviser Stefan Borson, who exclusively told Football Insider it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Saudi Public Investment (PIF) cash in on a big-money offer.
The sovereign wealth fund took over Newcastle in October 2021 after agreeing a £305million deal with former owner Mike Ashley.
One of PIF’s primary focuses within sport has been LIV Golf, which was launched in 2022 in an attempt to overthrow the US-based PGA Tour.
However, PIF is pulling its funding of the rebel league, raising questions around Newcastle’s leadership situation.
Why PIF has been 'conservative' with Newcastle investment
It is understood senior figures at St James’ Park have been told the LIV Golf situation doesn’t affect Newcastle after meetings took place last week.
Meanwhile, a major capital investment is due to be announced, with plans in place for a new training ground on Tyneside.
| Financial Metric | Value |
| Total Revenue | £335m |
| Commercial revenue | £123m |
| Pre-tax profit | £35m |
| Wages | £243m |
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Borson discussed PIF’s intentions at St James’ Park.
“The bigger issue is what's PIF's overall strategy in relation to sport,” said Borson.
“We know they're coming out of LIV Golf as well now. Clearly, you could say that's going to free up a huge amount of additional investment capacity at PIF, but it very much depends on whether this is a strategic core investment for PIF.
“The overall impact is probably going to be quite limited, partly because they've been quite conservative in the way that they've approached the Newcastle investment anyway.”
Why PIF could accept Newcastle takeover offer
Borson insisted Newcastle’s owners will continue to invest in the club despite the ongoing speculation.
“PIF have a co-investor in the Reubens, so every time they put money in, it's needed the co-investor to also stand their corner,” said Borson.
“If they got an offer of let's say £1.5bn, which is not beyond the realms, they may say, ‘Well, actually, we've trebled our money, why don't we take it?’. That wouldn't completely surprise me.
“But you can expect the sorts of levels of investment and support that have been there so far to continue, and that means they still see it as a serious investment.
“But they don't see it like they see LIV Golf. They don't see it like they saw the investment in the Saudi Pro League as a kind of bottomless pit.”