PCP Capital Partners has moved a step closer to buying Newcastle United by lodging paperwork with the Premier League and formal checks are underway.
Legal framework for a deal - close to £300m - was put in place by the two parties on Tuesday.
Financier Amanda Staveley's Saudi-backed consortium will have to pass the Premier League's Owners' and Directors' Test before Mike Ashley's 13-year tenure at St James' Park comes to an end.
Ashley and Newcastle have declined to comment.