Chinese deal threat
CHINESE interest in Newcastle United could be threatened by the Beijing government’s controls on major overseas investments.
Sportswear tycoon Mike Ashley is willing to sell at the right price – suggested to be as much as £400m – after 10 turbulent years of Toon ownership.
Two groups of investors in the Chinese city of Shenzhen are the latest understood to be eyeing the Magpies, with a view to either buying out Ashley or taking a stake in the club.
Intriguingly, Newcastle this week announced a strengthening of their links with China through the launch of three new social media accounts on the Sina Weibo, WeChat and Dongqiudi platforms.
But the government in China, worried about the impact on their economy of so-called capital flight, are keeping a watch on how much money leaves the country.
And sources close to Chinese football insist that government monitoring poses a fresh challenge to foreign takeovers, with one saying: “The government here has blocked people from taking big amounts of money out of the country.’’
Restrictions on outward investments, introduced in China late last year, have since been relaxed after a recovery in the value of the country’s currency, the yuan.
But regulators are still paying close attention to “irrational’’ investment in the likes of property, entertainment and sport.
It means any investment in Newcastle – promoted back to the Premier League under Rafa Benitez – may have to be financed with Chinese-owned dollars already held in other countries, like the USA, where there is also said to be interest in the club.
Former Liverpool, Chelsea and Real Madrid boss Benitez is a popular figure in China – two Chinese Super League sides were willing to pay him a staggering £30m a year as coach.
Chinese investors have targeted northern clubs, with both Hull and Middlesbrough the subject of takeover interest last season.
Sunderland, relegated alongside those clubs and now in talks with a German consortium, have also been linked with interest from China.