On 23 May 2007, Ashley bought Sir John Hall's 41.6% stake in Newcastle United at one pound per share, for a total cost of £55,342,223 via his company St James Holdings Ltd. Under the terms of UK takeover law, purchases of more than 30% of a company require the buyer to offer to buy remaining shares at the same or greater price.[41] On 31 May, it was reported that the Newcastle board were considering Ashley's offer[42] and, on 7 June, chairman Freddy Shepherd agreed to sell his 28% share to Ashley.[43] By 15 June 2007, Ashley owned a 77.06% stake in Newcastle United, on course to withdraw the club from the stock exchange, having surpassed the 75% threshold required.[44] The following month, Ashley paid around £134 million to acquire the remaining 22.94%, making him sole owner of the club.
Not exactly true that he only goes for bargains, he spent circa £200m on Newcastle almost 20 years ago.