As the takeover saga at Newcastle United rumbles on, it remains to be seen if the consortium which is being led by Amanda Stavely and 80 per cent funded by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, will be able to complete the deal.
And while Newcastle’s beleaguered fan base will be pleased to see the back of Mike Ashley no matter who takes charge, if that deal falls through then the club will have to look elsewhere.
One possible new owner is Henry Mauriss, an American businessman who is an unknown in the north east. The Toon Army will need more information before they welcome Mauriss with open arms though.
Mauriss, we understand, has tabled a £350million bid for the club - which coincides with the publication of the WTO report on Tuesday.
Relatively little is known about the Californian. In an era when people are more than happy to plaster themselves across social media, Mauriss has a protected Twitter account with just nine followers , 11 on Instagram and only 23 friends on Facebook .
If those accounts are genuinely him, which they easily might not be, they don’t provide intrigued Newcastle supporters with any background information on the prospective new owner of their beloved club.
Mauriss’ LinkedIn profile does at least offer a little information about his past. He was previously involved in Credit America Corporation, and further digging reveals he actually founded the credit and debt management company back in 1998.
He built it up for more than 20 years before selling in 2010 , and in that time he converted and resold more than $7billion in assets through portfolio trades, explaining how he made his fortune.
These days he is the chairman and chief executive of ClearTV, a media company which operates television services to airports and hospitals, offering more than 200 digital channels to their subscribers . But could Newcastle be his next acquisition?
There’s little evidence to suggest he has been interested in football in the past. Major League Baseball is listed on Brand Yourself as being one of the things he enjoys, and he also plays ice hockey with his family. Mauriss is clearly a sports fan, even if English football will potentially be new to him.
And it’s an existing Premier League owner with no previous football experience who he will be reportedly trying to emulate. A recent article in The Mirror stated Mauriss will be looking to copy the success which fellow baseball enthusiast John W Henry has had at Liverpool with his Fenway Sports Group.
In the last decade, Henry has turned Liverpool into an asset said to be worth around £2billion, having bought it in 2010 for £360m. Mauriss would be hoping to achieve similarly great things in the north east.
The same article noted: “The wealthy businessman and his backers have offered Ashley £350m – that’s £50m more than was tabled by Staveley’s consortium, whose bid is currently being considered by the Premier League.”
With that in mind, it’s entirely possible that this reclusive American could become the next owner of Newcastle. If so, it will be interesting to see what else can be learned about this wealthy businessman who clearly loves to maintain a low profile.
