Explainer: Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund will control the Premier League club and can spend big in the transfer market
A consortium of PIF, PCP Capital Partners and RB Sports & Media are taking over the Premier League club from the British billionaire Mike Ashley. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is expected to hold 80% of the shares. The PIF is a sovereign wealth fund that since the early 1970s has taken the bulk of Saudi Arabia’s savings from the sale of oil. It is worth about $430bn (£315bn), underscoring how little the £300m initial cost of its foray into Premier League football will figure on its balance sheet. Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of PIF, becomes nonexecutive chairman of Newcastle United. PCP Capital Partners is a “boutique international private equity firm” founded by the British financier Amanda Staveley, who will have a seat on the Newcastle board. RB Sports & Media is part of Reuben Brothers, a British private equity and property firm owned by billionaire investors. Jamie Reuben, the son of David Reuben, will also sit on the board.
