Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani, who both want to buy Man Utd, are said to have “ignored requests by takeover brokers Raine Group.”
The Glazer family put Man Utd up for sale last November, and Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim are the only known bidders.
The current owners are asking for about £6bn for it. It was hoped that a takeover could happen early in 2023, but now it seems that it won’t happen until the summer because the Glazer family wants to get the most money possible.
Football Insider is now saying that Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim have “ignored demands” from the Raine Group, who wanted to “keep certain details of the process closely hidden.”
The report also says that both of the parties’ first offers were “between £4.5bn and £5bn.”
Raine Group wanted to keep “specific financial details” like “the proposed structure and value of offers” secret. But this “directive” has been broken “multiple times.”
The Raine Group “would never have realistically expected a deal of this potential size to go through without leaks,” but they have been “sᴜrprised” by the “volume of information” that has become public.
This week, Kaveh Solhekol of Sky Sports said that Ratcliffe and Shaikh Jassim have been told that they have “made it to the next stage of the process to buy Manchester United.”
Solhekol told Sky Sports, “It is very important news because it shows that the Glazer family really cares about Man Utd.”
“According to what we know, the bid led by Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani of Qatar and the bid from Sir Jim Ratcliffe are both moving on to the next stage. There may also be one other bidder who hasn’t been named who is moving on to the next stage.”
“What will happen in the next step? It’s kind of like when you want to buy a car and see an ad online, call up and talk to someone about it, and find out how much it costs. Now you get to go for a test drive, which is what will happen in the next few weeks.
“The interested bidders will go to Old Trafford and meet with people from the Raine Group. They may also meet members of the Glazer family, and they will be given access to detailed financial information about Man Utd. They need to see the books and accounts.
“Once they’ve done that, they can make a firm offer for the club. So, if you are one of the many Man Utd fans who want to get rid of the Glazers, you probably thought this morning that it was good news that the process was moving forward.
The takeover battle for Manchester United is set to enter it’s next stage
Reports say that a broad deal to take over Manchester United could be reached by the end of April.
The Raine Group, the bank in charge of the sale, gave interested parties until the end of last month to submit bids. So far, only Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al-Thani and Sir Jim Ratcliffe have made confirmed offers.
There have been many reports, though, that other bids have been made. For example, the Daily Mail says that Sheikh Jassim and Ratcliffe will be called to Old Trafford in the coming weeks as the sale process moves to the next stage, and that a third, unnamed group has also been “asked to attend” a meeting.
At this point, there may also be frustration that Raine hasn’t given out the club’s full financial records. This means that the cost of fixing up Old Trafford is still a big unknown for those bidding. The Mail also says that the Glazers want £6 billion for the club, and it’s not clear if any family members will be at these meetings.
ESPN says that the United staff has been told that the ownership situation should be “clear” by the end of the season, and that the Glazers would prefer a full takeover to an offer of a partial investment.
ESPN says, “There is still hope that a broad agreement could be reached by the end of April, which would give potential new owners a chance to weigh in on decisions during the summer transfer window.”
- RMC Sport says that a sale could be done in two to four months, and the offer from Sheikh Jassim in Qatar looks like the most likely to go through at the moment. The news comes after a period of uncertainty about whether or not the Glazers will sell the club. This made the stock price of the club go down.
