Manchester United bidders under pressure to show they can do a deal
Manchester United’s two final bidders are under pressure to prove they can actually complete the deal should one of them go through, and the American owner of the English Premier League club has been forced to go through the process. Seeking a higher offer in the next final round of.
The Glazers are British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his Ineos industrial empire competing with Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al-Thani, son of the former Prime Minister of Qatar, to become Britain’s most famous We are seeking higher offers from bidders to acquire one of our clubs.
Price is the most important of the criteria, but bidders will also be evaluated on their ability to complete the deal quickly, according to two people familiar with the acquisition process.
Ineos, a representative for Sheikh Jassim, and Raine Group, the merchant bank carrying out the process, declined to comment.
The Glazer family is also considering proposals from various investment firms, including Elliott Management, which could result in the family retaining ownership of United. The Carlyle Group, which has $376 billion in assets under management, is also interested in investing in the club, according to two people familiar with the matter. If Carlyle is involved, a preferred stock deal is likely, one of the people said.
United is one of the biggest brands in sports, with a fan base that spans the globe. The club won a record 20 English league titles, but the last of them came in his 2013 season, when legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson retired.
The sale could top the $4.6 billion that Rob Walton, heiress to Walmart’s retail fortune, paid last year for the Denver Broncos’ American football franchise. Acquired the Washington Commanders of the National Football League.
A record for a Premier League club is the £2.5 billion paid by US investors Clearlake Capital and Todd Boehly to buy Chelsea FC last year.
Manchester United owners have set a deadline for final bids of 28 April. Any change of ownership is subject to Premier League approval.
Ratcliffe’s previous offer valued United at around £5 billion, according to two people briefed on the matter.Ineos’ sports portfolio includes French football clubs OGC Nice and Mercedes Formula 1. One-third of the team includes the Grenadias Cycling Team.
Not much is known about his rival Sheikh Jassim, who is looking to buy United through an entity called the Nine Two Foundation. The latest price was not disclosed, but a person close to Sheikh Jassim’s bid said the Nine Two Foundation was set up in Qatar. The foundation will disclose more information if it is confirmed to be a preferred bidder, the official added.
“In the eyes of Manchester United fans, they must be nervous given the lack of solid information. [Nine Two] foundation,” a football finance scholar at the University of Liverpool, football prices.
Jassim’s father, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani, known as HBJ, is the former head of Qatar’s Sovereign Wealth Fund and one of the richest people in the world.
United shares closed Friday at $22.02 in New York, up 1.9% from last week, with the stock valued at about $3.6 billion. The club has a net debt of approximately $880 million.
The Glazer family have owned United since the £790m leveraged buyout led by the late Malcolm Glazer, and the use of debt to finance the acquisition has infuriated the club’s fans.
