Finance Expert Explains Why Amanda Staveley's Newcastle Takeover Deal Could Still Happen

Businesswoman Amanda Staveley's proposed takeover of Newcastle United could yet go through, despite news of the deal going cold in recent days, according football finance expert Kevin Maguire.

Staveley submitted multiple bids to buy Newcastle United - through her company PCP Capital Partners - which have all been rejected by Magpies owner Mike Ashley for being below his £300m valuation of the club.

However, a deal could still happen, as a result of an announcement made earlier this week regarding a new Premier League TV rights deal. The situation was explained further by Maguire, who spoke to the Daily Star.

Five rights packages have already been sold for Premier League games, with Sky Sports winning four and the other going to BT Sport.

One of the other packages is subject to interest from internet giants Amazon and has entered a second round of bidding.

According to Maguire, Ashley believes that high prices for domestic and international television rights could increase the value of his football club, and encourage Staveley and her partners to match his original valuation.

“The elephant in the room is that the Premier League is the most popular sporting product globally,” Maguire explained.

“The Premier League still think there is a lot growth potential in the overseas [TV] deals.

“If [Mike] Ashley thinks that those prices are going to be very high, he’s going to factor that into the valuation of the club.

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“Clearly PCP want to take a more conservative view point of that so that is why there is a gap in those prices.

"Once we know the value of those deals, then you have got more certainty and I think then you could see parties coming together and saying ‘well now we know what the TV money is going to be going through to 2022, we’ve got a more secure sense of forecasting data from which we can come up with an agreed price’.

“Ashley is going to say one price, PCP are going to say another because it is in their best interests to do so.”