A Saudi Arabian-led consortium to buy Newcastle United from Mike Ashley has withdrawn from takeover talks.
The group have blamed the "unforeseeably long process" on their decision to abandon the purchase.
The deal to sell the Premier League club to the Pubic Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia and the Reuben brothers had been in the works for four months.
Former Rangers shareholder Ashley was reportedly set to receive a staggering £300million lump sum from the agreement.
But a statement from the consortium on Thursday confirmed the deal as dead in the water.
It read: "With a deep appreciation for the Newcastle community and the significance of its football club, we have come to the decision to withdraw our interest in acquiring Newcastle United Football Club.
"We do so with regret, as we were excited and fully committed to invest in the great city of Newcastle and believe we could have returned the club to the position of its history, tradition and fans' merit.
"Ultimately, during the unforeseeably prolonged process, the commercial agreement between the Investment Group and the club's owners expired and our investment thesis could not be sustained, particularly with no clarity as to the circumstances under which the next season will start and the new norms that will arise for matches, training and other activities."
