Newcastle United visits KV Oostende in Belgium for takeover talks

April 21 - Newcastle United and their Saudi owners, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), have reportedly expressed interest in buying Belgian club KV Oostende, recently relegated from the top flight.

A delegation from Tyneside has visited the seaside club as Newcastle United explore options for finding partner clubs. In 2020, Paul Conway took possession of Ostend, but the club's fortunes did not improve.

In 2020, the Belgian federation (KBVB) withdrew the professional license from Ostend. The following year, the club lost 4 million euros followed by a deficit of 5.2 million euros for the 2022 financial year.

A potential takeover could pave the way for Newcastle United to develop a multi-club ownership structure, a growing trend in the game with UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin recently indicating the governing body would be open to clubs with the same owners competing against each other in continental competitions.

Belgian clubs are popular with foreign investors due to relaxed regulations and low minimum wages. Manchester City and the City Football Group own Lommel in 1B. In the top flight, Qatar's QSI owns Eupen, Thailand's King Power and owner of Leicester City, acquired OH Leuven, and Malaysia's Vincent Tan owns Kortrijk, among others.

Newcastle United and PIF would not be the first Saudi owners of Belgian football. Prince Abdullah bin Musad Al Saud has a majority stake in Antwerp club Beerschot.

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