KIM KARDASHIAN’S friend Carla DiBello played a key role in organising talks about the proposed Newcastle United takeover, reports have claimed.
The Wall Street Journal says DiBello, 35, who worked on Keeping Up With The Kardashians, pitched the idea of buying The Toon “early last year”.
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And now it is claimed she is helping the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) negotiate a £343m deal to buy a majority stake.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman is believed to be looking at buying the club.
He was previously linked with taking over from the Glazer family at Manchester United and maintains an interest there.
But it would appear more concrete talks have taken place over the possible purchase of Newcastle due to DiBello’s “close relationship” with the fund’s chief.
American DiBello is said to have pitched the idea of buying the Premier League club last year at the PIF offices.
The report claims two people involved in the talks had “no idea how she got access” to such a high level meeting.
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People familiar with her dealings say DiBello’s friendship with top dog Yasir al-Rumayyan has “raised concerns among some PIF officials”.
The reports adds they have “grown frustrated” with al-Rumayyan’s attention to DiBello – who makes money from her role in bringing together people who want to cut a deal – “during a time when the fund’s major investments are struggling”.
DiBello and al-Rumayyan, who is married, are reported to both love golf and have been seen dining together.
And it was on a megayacht last October that Prince Mohammad, al-Rumayyan, DiBello and Amanda Staveley, the other woman at the centre of the Newcastle talks, socialised.
Further adding to the intrigue of DiBello’s role in talks is that she has “no clear financial expertise” and the only education listed on her LinkedIn page is a three-day university course.
Against this backdrop it is understandable why managers at PIF seemingly “couldn’t figure out why they had been scheduled to meet with her” about the Newcastle deal.
The report adds that DiBello was “confident and engaging” during the discussion, which she attended by herself, but gave unconvincing explanations about the proposed terms of the deal.
‘NO FINANCIAL EXPERTISE’
Her shock involvement in the talks appears to be explained by the claim that al-Rumayyan’s office wanted her there to meet key figures.
It was there that she told those present that current Toon owner Mike Ashley wanted to sell and that she and Stavely wanted to “cut a deal” for Saudi Arabia to stump up the cash.
It is claimed the two women would play a role in managing the business for a fee and get a portion of the equity.
A Newcastle United spokesman declined to comment on the claims.
DiBello has posted photos on her Instagram of herself with Prince Mohammed.
One of DiBello’s four liked tweets on her Twitter page is about Bin Salman’s proposed takeover.
She was a guest at Kim’s wedding to Kanye West in 2014 and also worked on Kourtney & Kim Take New York and a new documentary called Electric Kingdom, tracking Saudi Arabia’s first Formula E race.
The PIF is said, in the article, to have invested billions in global markets, so a move for Newcastle is not totally out of the question.
And the Wall Street Journal also reported last month that the deal was in fact “close to being completed”.
