For the price he is asking for. Not at this time.
Zabeel Investments backed out of spending money on the Addicks which was going for a far cheaper price than Newcastle. They are a big moneyed player in the ME which is in far better shape than the English economy now projected to be in a deeper recession than previously forecast. How this affects club ownerships is a guessing game right now. But prospective owners are probably in wait and watch mode looking for bargain basement deals.
As for Philip Anschutz, the owner of the LA Galaxy who was supposed to be one of the interested parties obviously had a bad phone connection with Ashley because the price they are quoting is $225 million which is what Ashley paid for Newcastle when he bought it in 2007. He is probably best known in the UK as the developer of the newly opened O2, the previous version: The Dome, proved to be a symbol of neo-liberal excess for the Blair government.
Anschutz would be a good owner but there are reasons he is not interested in buying Newcastle at the price that Ashley wants.
His commitment to sporting ventures is commendable even as they have lost him money. He at one time owned a number of money losing clubs in the MLS before selling them off to concentrate on the LA Galaxy, which has enjoyed a boom with David Beckham pushing attendances to record levels. However the Galaxy have not been successful in reaching the playoffs and there is concern that this could adversely impact viewership. Financial woes in this country are also taking its toll on Anschutz's business empire that keep afloat his movie production business and soccer clubs.
Anschutz lost billions of dollars in the 2002 collapse of Qwest Communications in an accounting scandal and it continues to bleed money in these recessionary times. His entertainment company, Regal Entertainment Group, the USA's biggest owner of chain movie theaters, stock is sharply down. He also faces an unpaid IRS bill of over $143 million in capital gains tax from previous business deals.
Given the grim outlook of the present financial markets and pundits saying that this take a year or more before things start to look up, Ashley will be faced with a few choices. The easier and most desirable choice, he heeds Dave Whelan's advice and sells at the price he bought Newcastle. The tougher one which might cost him a fortune in security fees, sees him riding out these troubled times faced with the prospect of never entering his club without protection, a virtual prisoner, to sell at a later date for the price he thinks he could get. It could mean endless vitriol from fans, the prospect that managers who otherwise could be enticed to coach would keep away, and little money for transfers. Of course there is a third option, a sort of reverse Stockholm Syndrome, by that time fans will have forgiven him enough for him to keep ownership of the club.
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