Singaporean investors in 'advanced' talks to buy Newcastle United

Bellagraph Nova Group has 'enlisted the help' of Newcastle legend and former England striker Alan Shearer to push through with the purchase

A Paris-based conglomerate say they are in advanced talks to buy Premier League club Newcastle United. PA

Three Singaporean entrepreneurs behind a Paris-based conglomerate say they are in advanced talks to buy Premier League club Newcastle United, just weeks after a Saudi Arabia-backed bid was withdrawn.

Bellagraph Nova Group, which operates in 100 countries with a portfolio ranging from finance to luxury goods, said it had sent a letter of intent and proof of funds for the purchase to the club on August 10.

"We are already negotiating the term of our acquisition of Newcastle Football Club. We are at the advanced stage of the purchasing," a Bellagraph Nova Group spokesman told AFP.

The group said that it has "enlisted the help" of Newcastle legend and former England striker Alan Shearer to push through with the purchase, as well as another former Magpies striker, Michael Chopra.

News of the bid comes just weeks after a Saudi Arabia-backed consortium, which included the Saudi Public Investment Fund, PCP Capital Partners and billionaire brothers David and Simon Reuben, had reportedly struck a £300 million ($391 million) deal to buy the club from unpopular owner Mike Ashley in April.

The Saudi fund, chaired by Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, had been set to take an 80 per cent stake under the proposed deal before the bid was withdrawn, after months of waiting for Premier League approval.

The collapse of the proposed takeover left many Newcastle supporters crestfallen at the thought of the club remaining in the ownership of Ashley, the British billionaire who purchased the club in 2007, whom they accuse of chronic under-investment.

Bellagraph Nova Group was co-founded by Singaporean cousins Nelson and Terence Loh and their business partner Evangeline Shen in 2008.

The Lohs are former investment bankers at JP Morgan, and are known to be keen sports fans.

The company's founders "have declared their willingness to massively contribute to the development of the club through their solid and international structure and a combined business/sport devoting mindset", the spokesman added.

________________

Newcastle 2019/20 player ratings

______________________

Reports of Shearer's links with the Bellagraph Nova Group bid will undoubtedly lead to speculation about manager Steve Bruce's job prospects.

Bruce, 59, was a far-from-popular replacement for Raphael Benitez when named as the Spaniard's successor in July 2019 but guided the club to a respectable 13th-placed finish in the Premier League last term.

Shearer, who scored more than 200 goals for his boyhood club, briefly managed the Magpies on a caretaker basis in April 2009 but failed to save them from relegation to the Championship.

Bruce and Shearer are known to be close, and the latter has yet to comment on reports he is involved in the Bellagraph Nova Group bid.

Bellagraph Nova Group said it oversees 31 businesses worldwide, with 23,000 employees and a group revenue of $12 billion in 2019.

In its proposal, the company said it has "the necessary experience and resources to accelerate Newcastle United's growth and realise its full potential".

No financial details of the proposal were given, but Ashley is known to be holding out for at least the £300m the Saudi fund and its associates had bid to take control of the club.