Peter Kenyon is attempting to form a consortium capable of buying Newcastle from Mike Ashley. The former Manchester United and Chelsea chief executive is now a director of Opto Advisers, a sports consultancy business, and is believed to have held outline preliminary talks with Ashley. Although Kenyon is reported to be negotiating with, among others, the New York company Rockefeller Management, things are at an extremely early stage. Moreover, the football club takeovers that do go through tend to be handled extremely discreetly, with Abu Dhabi’s deal to purchase Manchester City perhaps the best example. When takeover stories are leaked, as details of Kenyon’s bid have been, it is often either an attempt to smoke out interested investors or a highly effective way of generating publicity. That said, sources are adamant Kenyon’s offer is genuine and would involve him assuming a senior executive role at St James’ Park as Ashley’s troubled 11-year tenure ended. Kenyon is said to believe that there is an excellent opportunity to multiply Newcastle’s still untapped commercial revenues, within England and overseas, where the club command a significant following. Kenyon would need to be supported by a consortium of investors and he is understood to have used his contacts to float the idea with assorted businesses and individuals, private equity firms among them. Kenyon also has established close bonds with some key Chinese investors in European football. Ashley has tried and failed to sell Newcastle at regular intervals since 2007 but has found buyers hard to come back, with his £400m asking price a key obstacle. After more than a year of failing to attend the team’s games, the Sports Direct owner watched the 0-0 draw at Crystal Palace last Saturday and on Saturday was in the stands for the home game against Leicester. Despite being keen to sell, Ashley is unlikely to be impressed by the leaking of his talks with Kenyon as he has always made a point of demanding discretion from those interested in the club and is said to be instinctively suspicious of anyone who lets information slip.<doc-sep>Former Manchester United and Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon is plotting a takeover bid for Newcastle United that could end Mike Ashley's decade-long ownership of the Premier League club. Sky News can reveal that Mr Kenyon has approached a number of potential financial backers in recent weeks about the idea of collaborating on a deal. City sources said this weekend that he was working on a bid with Rockefeller Capital Management, a New York-based firm run by Greg Fleming, one of the most prominent figures on Wall Street from his time at Merrill Lynch and then Morgan Stanley's wealth and asset management divisions. Mr Kenyon, who is now a director of a sports consultancy business called Opto Advisers, is said by potential investors to have held preliminary talks with Mr Ashley, the Sports Direct chief executive who bought Newcastle in 2007. The value likely to be attached to Mr Kenyon's offer was unclear on Saturday. Advertisement Image: Peter Kenyon is preparing a bid for Newcastle United If a bid from him was successful, Mr Kenyon would take a senior role in the running of the club, according to a source who has been told about his plans. He is said to believe that there is a significant opportunity‎ to expand Newcastle's commercial revenues, with the club enjoying a significant international following as well as a large and loyal support at St James' Park. However, any takeover is far from guaranteed, and is partly dependent upon Mr Kenyon securing financing commitments from investors. In the last few weeks, he has approached a number of private equity firms, high net worth individuals and family offices about backing an offer for Newcastle, although the status of those discussions was unclear this weekend. Mr Kenyon has forged close ties with a number of Chinese investors in European football clubs, although it is not known whether any of the prospective funders of his bid for Newcastle United would be from the world's second-largest economy. He remains a credible figure in the football world, having run two of the English game's most successful teams. After leaving Chelsea in 2009, Mr Kenyon had a spell at the helm of the international sports division of Creative Artists Agency, the talent management group. He resigned from CAA in 2011, since when he has played what associates describe as a behind-the-scenes role in a number of sizeable football deals. ‎ Many Newcastle fans are desperate for a change of owner, having seen their team relegated twice during Mr Ashley's tenure. Despite formally putting the club up for sale, however, there have been significant obstacles to a deal, including his reported £400m asking price for the club. Image: Newcastle United boss Mike Ashley watches his team playing at home Mr Ashley, who recently orchestrated Sports Direct's £90m acquisition of House of Fraser within hours of it falling into administration, originally put Newcastle on the market last October, saying he hoped to find a buyer by Christmas. Since then, he has held talks with several bidders, including Amanda Staveley, the City financier behind a vehicle called PCP Capital Partners. Negotiations between Mr Ashley and PCP, which was said to have proposed a deal structured to be worth in the region of £300m including deferred payments, broke down earlier this year. It is ‎unclear whether the Sports Direct tycoon is engaged in talks with any other prospective buyers of the club. Renewed speculation about the Magpies' future ownership comes amid talks about prospective takeovers of other prominent Premier League clubs. Allisher Usmanov, the Uzbek-born Russian businessman, recently sold his £600m stake in Arsenal to fellow shareholder Stan Kroenke, a deal which has triggered the club's delisting from a junior London stock exchange. Meanwhile, Roman Abramovich, the Russian owner of Chelsea, has been exploring options for his shareholding following his withdrawal of an application to renew his investor visa. There is also continuing speculation that both Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur could change hands in the coming months, with an influx of broadcast rights money from companies including Sky plc, the owner of Sky News, fuelling investors' appetite to buy top English clubs. Mr Kenyon could not be reached for comment this weekend.<doc-sep>Kenyon is hoping to line up a host of financial backers to try and collaborate on a potential takeover deal from Mike Ashley Former Manchester United and Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon is in talks to buy Newcastle off Mike Ashley. Kenyon is reportedly in talks with financial investors regarding a potential buy-out of the under-fire owner at St James’ Park. 2 Ashley put Newcastle up for sale for a second time in October 2017 The 64-year-old, who spent six years at United (1997-2003) and Chelsea (2003-09), is hoping to line up a host of financial backers to try and collaborate on a potential deal. Newcastle fans have been desperate to get rid of the Ashley for years and the Sports Direct tycoon has put the club up for sale for almost a year. Ashley lowered the valuation of the club from £380million to closer to £300m after a failed buy-out bid by businesswoman Amanda Staveley, who had a £250m offer rejected. However, it is understood Kenyon is speaking with Rockefeller Capital Management, a New York-based firm in his quest to buy out the club. 2 It’s been a difficult season for the Magpies so far The Magpies are in the Premier League’s relegation zone and have yet to win any of the opening seven league matches this season.<doc-sep>
Ginola: Benitez might leave Newcastle because of Mike Ashley Mike Ashley, owner of Newcastle, is listening to offers for the club, which he is looking to sell for around £400 million. As of yet, no suitable owner has been found, much to the frustration of Newcastle fans. Fans have staged multiple protests against Ashley’s regime, with the AshleyOut movement staging a protest at one of his Sports Direct stores in Newcastle before a league match. Ashley has not attended any Newcastle matches at St James Park since May 2017, though he is expected to attend Newcastle’s home tie with Leicester City. Now, his reign at Newcastle could soon be coming to an end, as Kenyon is reportedly scouting out potential investors to help finance his bid for the club. Kenyon has been out of football since 2009, when he left Chelsea. He started as deputy chief executive at Manchester United, where he stayed until 2003, as Roman Abramovich took over the club and hired him to be chief executive. It is believed that Mourinho is plotting his takeover with Rockefeller Capital Management, a New York-based investment firm. Peter Kenyon is said to be plotting a takeover of Newcastle United Kenyon played a key role in the early Abramovich era at Chelsea Kenyon is reported to have begun preliminary negotiations with Ashley over the takeover, but no details regarding the bid have been confirmed. Ashley has had the club on sale for just under a year, having slapped the £400 million price tag on the club last October. He then held talks with Amanda Staveley, who intended to buy the club but was unable to lower Ashley’s price tag. Fans were left frustrated this summer due to Ashley’s lack of investment in the club, having spent the third lowest in the league, just £25 million in total on players. Mike Ashley put the club up for sale last year for £400 million Newcastle fans have campaigned for Ashley to leave the club