I spoke to a few I know down here morning after it leaked, they normally hear snippets but had heard zero about it but the warning signs were the journos releasing the info.
People thought it might be a goer as the day went on but when I spoke to someone this morning they just said it stinks of Ashley and Bishop, same journos just a slightly different story, instead of walking away from the deal this will turn out to "they didn't have the funds" then expect to see Brazil, Whyte, Downie, The Sun and others all lead with how Ashley has Newcastle's best interests at heart and they should be thankful, it will probably culminate in Benitez walking out.
Thing is, anyone buying Newcastle will need to have a bottomless pit of money, as most income streams are knowingly tied up, the one's nobody knows about might just be even worse, Im not sure if it has went through but a large tranche of land behind SJP was due to be sold off killing off any Stadium expansion or fan area.