Following a week in which drama from the Premier League’s backstage areas made headlines, PIF, the owners of Newcastle United, are now negotiating a potential problematic business agreement.
The Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) paid only £305 million for eighty percent of Newcastle in October 2021—a pittance in comparison to the over £700 billion in assets they now manage.
Following the purchase, Premier League clubs decided to tighten associated party transaction (APT) regulations to stop Newcastle from entering into fictitiously large commercial arrangements.
Man City, which like Newcastle is controlled by a Gulf state, has challenged the APT regulations in the arbitration tribunals in what is largely considered as a counterstrike against the Premier League in the 115 charges case.
Although there is a great deal of uncertainty over whether this is a “win” for City, they have at least had several regulations declared illegal.
Along with Everton and Chelsea, Newcastle was among the few teams to testify at the tribunal in support of Man City.
And with all of that turmoil continuing, the owners of Newcastle are currently considering another transaction that would have league-wide implications.
PIF want DAZN deal
Among the Premier League’s vast array of foreign broadcasters is DAZN, which together now adds just as much value to the tournament as the league’s local media partners.
According to Reuters, the Public Investment Fund is now looking to buy 10% of DAZN for £760 million.
Although this would be appropriate, analysts’ and observers’ discussions about potential difficulties are beginning to be sparked by the tighter Ven relationship between club and media ownership.
Media and ownership links – a conflict of interest?
There are many overlaps in terms of them having stakes in media firms because there is a limited number of people and organisations rich enough to buy a Premier League team.
Additional challenges are inevitable given the increasing role nation governments are playing in the ownership realm.
In fact, supporters of Newcastle will recall that objections from Qatar, Saudi Arabia’s neighbour across the gulf, served as a major roadblock to the purchase in 2021.
At the time, Saudi Arabia was experiencing a large-scale piracy of Qatar’s sports channel BeIn’s content.
As for Atairos, the co-owner of Aston Villa, he owns stock in Comcast, the corporation that owns Sky Sports, which some have said may also present a conflict of interest.
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