CEO gives verdict on Newcastle United owners PIF sealing biggest takeover yet worth £16bn
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Newcastle United owners PIF have been anchored in the transfer market by the Premier League’s PSR system but, as recent news has shown, have other ways to flex their financial muscle at St James’ Park.
The Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) have approximately £730bn worth of assets under management at the time of writing, with around 30 per cent of those based outside Mohamed Bin Salman’s kingdom.
Newcastle are among those, leading to fears they could be on the receiving end when Yasir Al-Rumayyan, chairman of the sovereign wealth fund and the Magpies, said that Saudi are cutting overseas investment.
However, while the percentage of PIF’s foreign investment will fall, the real-terms amount of funding that their overseas assets will receive will remain the same because of the overall growth of their portfolio.
Newcastle therefore will still will receive the maximum amount from PIF, which – unfortunately for Eddie Howe and Paul Mitchell – is tied inextricably to Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).
PIF are, however, free to spend as freely as they like on infrastructure via plans to rebuild St James’ Park, youth development, and – from next season – non-managerial members of staff.
Across these verticals, the sovereign wealth fund will look to close the gap on the established elite.
Another area they PIF are targeting is multi-club ownership. This model, employed by the likes of Red Bull, Man City, and many more besides, has dozens of benefits.
Increasingly, multi-club networks are becoming multi-sport networks, looking to pool resources across multiple sports and raise the brand profiles of a number of franchise within the model.
PIF are perhaps more firmly embedded in global sport than any other company in the world, with major footholds in motorsport, combat sport, tennis, gold and many others.
Earlier this year, it was widely reported that they were about exploring their biggest sports takeover yet.
Now, the CEO of the business in question has responded for the first time.
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CEO responds to reports PIF want to buy F1
There are a number of links between F1 and the football universe.
Some readers may remember the ill-fated Superleague formula, wherein clubs like Tottenham, Liverpool, AC Milan and Rangers sent a team to compete in a 14-team single seater championship.
More recently, Spurs have partnered with Formula One in a 15-year deal to bring a karting experience to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
There have even been reports that Liberty Media, F1’s owners since 2017, have explored a Spurs takeover.
If they were to pursue that option, they could theoretically raise the cash many times over by selling F1, which most analysis now values at around £16bn.
PIF, who formerly owned a stake in McLaren, submitted a rejected bid to buy the franchise league in 2023 and have been continuously linked ever since.
However, outgoing Liberty CEO Greg Maffei has now knocked back suggestions that F1 is for sale, to PIF or anyone else: "Look, I don't think there's any plan to sell it.
"It's got a great future, but, you know, I suspect the Board of Liberty will be appropriate stewards of the shareholder capital.
"The business is very well positioned, right? [We have] grown the global partnership since 2019.
"We've compounded sponsorship at 16%. We've compounded all the revenue streams at something like 12%.
"It's really been a hallmark of what sports wants to be, growing fan interest through things like 'Drive to Survive,' growing sponsorship, growing high-end experiences.
"[It is] sort of a model everyone else is a little bit trying to follow."
PIF’s multi-club ambitions: Which teams could Newcastle United’s owners buy next?
While the F1 might not be up next, PIF will likely look to implement greater synergy across their sporting network as the years roll on.
At the moment, their top priority is the 2034 World Cup and they have just unveiled plans for a stunning 92,000-seater stadium where the final will be staged.
But the multi-club model is still very much on the cards, with Newcastle likely to function as the mothership in a fleet of teams.
Previously, PIF have reportedly been interested in taking over AS Monaco, where former director and minority shareholder Amanda Staveley has also been linked.
The 777 Partners network of clubs – which includes majority stakes in Genoa, Standard Liege, Red Star, Vasco da Gama and Hertha BSC – is also up for grabs on the cheap following the parent firm’s liquidation.
A non-European club might be optimal for PIF given that UEFA are tightening restrictions when it comes to multi-club ownership, with conflict of interest a major concern for regulators and fans.
