It’s been almost 18 months since PCP Partners, the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia and the Reuben brothers agreed to buy the Magpies for £300million before the Premier League (EPL) refused to approve the deal.
Mike Ashley has battled to resurrect the deal and has launched two legal challenges against the EPL – arbitration and an anti-competition case. The latter will soon be heard by the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT), to determine if the case can go further.
But this takeover saga started well before the Saudi-bid when Ashley again put the club up for sale in October 2017.
From the first beginnings to the very latest – scroll and click through the pages to see our takeover timeline:
37. July 19, 2021 - Arbritrition delayed to '2022 at the earliest'
The club's arbitration case against the Premier League, which was instigated in an attempt to resurrect the proposed Amanda Staveley-brokered takeover, has been delayed until the start of 2022 at the earliest because of issues relating to the "disclosure of evidence". Photo: George Wood
38. September 20, 2021 - CAT hearing date announced
Newcastle United’s CAT claim against the Premier League has a new date - and will now be heard on Wednesday, September 29, 2021. The hearing will determine whether the claim can go forward. This is what the court documents stated: “The Claim states that the Defendant exercised its power to block the Proposed Takeover when it decided between June and September 2020 that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia would be a director exercising ‘control’ over NUFC, for the purposes of the Rules (‘the Director Decision’)" Photo: AFP Contributor