Qatar’s offer for Manchester United ‘is worth around £5BILLION’ ahead of 10pm deadline
>
Qatar’s bid for Manchester United is “worth around £5BILLION” as they are putting the finishing touches on their bid by the 10pm deadline
- Manchester United are expected to receive a flood of offers to buy the club.
- The US-based Glazer family has requested £6 billion
- Qatari investors are confident they can fire their rivals to complete the acquisition
Qatari investors are reportedly set to make a £5bn bid in the race to own Manchester United as a Friday night deadline for interested parties approaches.
Sealed bids are expected around 10pm UK time and 5pm in New York, which is home to merchant bankers Raine, who will evaluate the bids.
Qatar’s £5bn offer, Bloomberg reported, will draw attention considering the club’s American owners, the Glazer family, have asked for a further £1bn in what is expected to be a very competitive bidding war.
A consortium is putting the finishing touches on an offer, on a day when the club’s shares rose as much as 5.9 percent in premarket trading.
Shares closed Thursday in New York up 9.7 percent, boosting the club’s value to $4.4 billion (£3.7 billion).
Qatari investors are set to make an offer for Manchester United worth around £5bn
Manchester United could have new owners at the club in the next six weeks
United’s American owners, the Glazer family, are seeking at least £6bn to sell the club.
Offers are expected to pour in from around the world, as well as from the UK.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has announced his intentions to bring United back under British ownership and is a lifelong supporter of the club.
He has sporting interests elsewhere, including Team Sky in cycling, now under the Team Ineos banner, and also has a significant stake in the Mercedes Formula One team that Lewis Hamilton drives for.
Ratcliffe is Britain’s richest man, believed to be worth £21bn, but some of his rivals could drive significant financial advantages.
Another United fan on Twitter and Tesla owner Elon Musk is also believed to be monitoring the situation and is worth £157 billion in wealth and could keep the Red Devils under American ownership.
Other offers could also come from Saudi Arabia, China and even Singapore, and it could be good news for the Glazer family, who will be hoping for a bidding war to increase the value of the Premier League giants.
Despite their low initial offer, Qatari investors are confident they will win the race to take over Old Trafford and even close a deal within six weeks.
Raine will inform the Glazer family. If they receive an offer after Friday, they would be obligated to listen to it, since United is a publicly traded company.
Raine will sift through the offers and separate the heavy hitters and serious bits from the rest.
It is expected that there will be many interested parties looking to buy the Red Devils from the Glazers.
Britain’s richest man and United supporter, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, is among those interested.
There will be three groups, the first of which are those who wish to take full control of United. They are expected to come from a group of five, which includes the Qataris.
The second group will be made up of those who want to inject cash into the balance sheet in exchange for a stake in the club, while the third will be investment deals and business partnerships, where companies could provide services such as retail or media expertise. .
There are more than 20 deals in the latter two categories, though it remains true that a full takeover is the most likely outcome. In fact, it may be that some of those in groups two and three will later form consortia in an attempt to break into the first group.
Meanwhile, Erik ten Hag says he and his players are following the Manchester United takeover saga with interest, but they can’t let it distract them from their jobs on the pitch.
“We are following it, it is our club,” Ten Hag said. Of course we are committed, but we are focusing on football, on training and the way we play and on matches.
“We are enjoying our union at the moment. It’s really nice to work and we’re focusing on games and we’re in four competitions. Others in the club will have to make decisions and work hard in the process, but it is not up to us.
‘From the beginning, they (the club) informed me how the process will go. I am concentrating on football, they are focusing on other parts: the club’s departments and how to finance everything.”
