Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani never proved he had sufficient evidence to support his bid to buy Manchester United, according to documents submitted to US authorities.
United and Sir Jim Ratcliffe announced this Christmas Eve had agreed a £1.3 billion deal to acquire a minority stake in the club after thirteen months of negotiations.
And according to a new filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released on Wednesday evening, Sheikh Jassim repeatedly failed to provide the source of his financing.
The complicated and lengthy nature of United’s sale process is detailed in SEC filings. This shows that the Glazers also offered him the chance to buy United for $5.76 billion in May last year.
From the moment the Glazers family announced in November 2022 that they were listening to offers for the club as part of a ‘strategic review process’, the Qatari consortium and INEOS boss Ratcliffe emerged as the two frontrunners to take over at Old Trafford to take.
According to official documents, Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani never proved that he had sufficient proof that he could find his bid to buy Manchester United.
The Qatari consortium made five bids to take control of the club before withdrawing from the process on October 15 last year
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Sheikh Jassim submitted five separate bids for full control of the club, but withdrew the bid in October after becoming increasingly frustrated with the process.
His latest offer of £5.5 billion fell short of the £6 billion the Americans would want and opened the door for Ratcliffe to strike a deal for a 29 percent stake in the club, subject to approval by the regulators next month.
Unlike Ratcliffe’s deal to buy a minority stake, Sheikh Jassim’s offer was for 100 percent of the club and would see the Qatari consortium buy out the Glazers and all other shareholders.
Sheikh Jassim also pledged to invest around £1 billion in the redevelopment of Old Trafford or the construction of a new stadium, along with the transformation of United’s training facility.
The proposal raised questions about whether Sheikh Jassim, the chairman of the Qatar Islamic Bank, would have the necessary financing to finance the deal.
Sources close to him have always maintained that his proposed deal was financed in a personal capacity and dismissed rumors that he was fronting a bid financed by the Qatari state – whose sovereign wealth fund controls an estimated £370 billion in assets.
And according to SEC filings, the prospect of Sheik Jassim, known as “Bidder A,” taking control of United never seemed likely.
As part of the Schedule 14D-9 filing, which articulates a company’s response to a tender offer, United said Bidder A has repeatedly failed to submit “usual financing commitment letters.”
The Glazer family launched a strategic review of United in November 2022, inviting interested parties to submit their bids
Sheikh Jassim repeatedly failed to prove where his funding would come from
Sir Jim Ratcliffe completed a £1.3 billion deal for a 29 percent stake in the club on December 24
On February 17 last year – the deadline for an initial indication of interest – Sheikh Jassim submitted a deal worth $25 per share, valuing United at $4.1 billion (£3.2 billion).
The SEC filing states that the proposal “did not include customary financing commitment letters.”
The following month, United informally made Sheikh Jassim a new, improved offer worth $28 per share “did not provide sufficient value to shareholders.”
At the end of April last year, the Qatari consortium increased their offer to $28.54 per share.
On 16 May, Sheikh Jassim submitted a new offer worth $30.01 per share, valuing United at $4.9 billion (£3.9 billion), excluding the club’s existing debt.
SEC filings show that bidder A again failed to provide proof of financing before the Glazers themselves presented a counteroffer six days later.
United’s US owners said they would consider ‘a price of $35.25 per ordinary share’, which would have valued the club at $5.7 billion (£4.5 billion).
On May 25, the club noted that it would “require Bidder A to provide sufficient evidence of its sources of financing that would be necessary to complete such a transaction.”
The Qatari consortium made a new bid on June 1, submitting its offer directly to the Glazers and Raine Group – who were appointed as exclusive financial advisors to oversee the process together with Rothschild and Co.
Investments in United’s aging infrastructure were at the forefront of the bids
Ratcliffe has pledged to invest £237 million to improve facilities at Old Trafford
The offer valued Class A shares at $24.81 – $5.20 less than the offer submitted two weeks earlier – and Class B shares at $34. Class B shares have 10 times the voting rights of Class A shares.
“Again, this revised offer did not provide for the customary financing commitment letters,” the SEC filings said.
United’s board of directors ultimately informed Sheikh Jassim that he would have to provide “sufficient evidence of financing and customary financing paperwork” if negotiations were to proceed.
Sheikh Jassim never provided the required guarantees and eventually withdrew from the process on October 15.
By then, Ratcliffe had abandoned plans for a full takeover in favor of acquiring a minority stake in a deal that valued both Class A and B shares at $33 per share.
The £1.3 billion deal also included the commitment of £237 million in additional investment into the club.
Significantly, according to SEC filings, INEOS’ boss has provided updated funding commitment letters to assist throughout the process.