Takeover 'expert' makes NUFC claim in light of Mike Ashley's £400m asking price
Mike Ashley will only be able to sell Newcastle United to wealthy overseas investors according to financial expert Kieran Maguire - who feels his revised price tag of £400m is too steep, making us an unrealistic investment for potential domestic buyers.
Maguire, a chartered accountant with a background in finance, has regularly been used by the media to comment on the our takeover past 6 months, and he clearly feels Ashley has priced himself and so many potential buyers out of a deal.
One of those appears to be Amanda Staveley. Herself and PCP seemed as though they were one of the few parties who held genuine interest in the club, however it's looking more and more like they've walked away from Ashley due to his extortionate demands.
Here's what Maguire has had to say when speaking to say on the matter - admitting that wealthy overseas investors may be the only option for Ashley at £400m - and even that is 'looking steep':
“I don’t think there are any domestic investors willing to pay that much for Newcastle.
“There is a club 13 miles down the road that has just been sold for peanuts in the form of Sunderland.
“If Newcastle is going to be sold it will be to overseas investors and the asking price is looking steep for a club that has been relegated twice in the last 10 years."
I find his comments about Sunderland a bit pointless. They aren't really comparable to us right now so of course their recent takeover price was an absolute fraction of ours.
One has a world class manager in Rafa Benitez, 52,000 crowds every week and has just finished in the top 10 of the Premier League, where as the other is a League One club - left crippled financially and in a total mess both on and off the pitch as a result.
That being said, does that mean we are worth £400m? I'm not so sure, and it seems Ashley's greed could price him out of his overdue exit from our club.
Some question whether he even want to sell in the first place and, based on his 'efforts' so far, that's looking like a valid argument.
