Manchester United’s share price spiked almost 10 per cent on Thursday following a report from Reuters that the club are negotiating granting exclusivity to Sheikh Jassim.
The Qatari banker has made five bids to buy United in a deal which would value the club at up to £6bn.
Sources close to Sheikh Jassim say he is still waiting to hear if he has entered into exclusivity.
No exclusivity has been granted to any party interested in buying or investing in the club.
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Reuters say the Glazer family currently view Sheikh Jassim’s bid more favourably than a rival offer from British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe.
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Sheikh Jassim wants to buy 100 per cent of the club in a debt-free deal, whereas Ratcliffe is believed to be willing to buy the 69 per cent of the club owned by the Glazer family in a phased takeover.
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Sky Sports News’ Kaveh Solhekol reports that PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has played down any involvement in Sheikh Jassim’s bid for Manchester United
The company Sheikh Jassim wants to use to buy United – Nine Two UK Holdings Limited – was officially incorporated at Companies House on Thursday but the process to do this would have started weeks ago.
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Man Utd are widely seen as one of the most prized assets in all of sport. A $6bn deal would make the deal one of the biggest sports deals ever, following the similarly-sized sale of the National Football League’s Washington Commanders earlier this year.
United are the fourth-richest football club in the world, according to analysis by Deloitte.
Glazer family asked PSG president to help increase bid
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Kaveh Solhekol explains who Nasser Al-Khelaifi is and what his involvement would mean after speculation that the Paris Saint-Germain president is involved in Sheikh Jassim’s bid for Manchester United
Last week, Sky Sports reported that the United’s owners met with PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi to ask him to convince Sheikh Jassim to increase his bid to buy the club.
The Glazers want £6bn and Sheikh Jassim has submitted a fifth, improved bid, which is understood to be his final offering, totalling around £5bn.
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Sky Sports News chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol explains that Sheikh Jassim has submitted a fifth offer to takeover Manchester United but adds that it’ll be his final offer for the club and that it’s now or never for the Glazers
The Athletic reported on Friday that Al-Khelaifi has “played a significant role” in the Qatari royal’s bid to purchase the club from the Glazer family.
He has also reportedly met with the Raine Group to discuss the takeover.
But Sky Sports News has been told Al-Khelaifi has only been asked for advice, with Sheikh Jassim having also got in touch with the PSG president about his bid previously.
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Manchester United co-owner Avram Glazer remains tight-lipped as he’s questioned on the potential takeover of the club
Sheikh Jassim believes his bid is a very competitive one which brings huge benefits to Manchester United, including clearing nearly £1bn worth of club debt and a separate fund to redevelop Old Trafford, the surrounding area and the club’s Carrington training ground.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS values United at a higher price than Sheik Jassim’s bid, but theirs is not for the whole club and would give the Glazers the opportunity to keep a 20 per cent stake. United’s share price closed down to $18.80 on the NYSE in May, giving the club a market cap of $3.09bn (£2.47bn).
What the UK press say
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John Cross from The Mirror and Sam Wallace from the Daily Telegraph join Teddy Draper on Back Pages Tonight to discuss the latest on the Manchester United takeover
The Telegraph’s Sam Wallace:
“For the Qataris, prestige is everything. They are absolutely in this race, they want to win. They are so far into it that they don’t want to seem to be defeated. So it’s about price so lo and behold, we’ve got a new bid.”
The Daily Mirror’s John Cross:
“Jim Ratcliffe would only own a share of the club and I just think that this totally misjudges the mood of Manchester United fans. Kaveh Solhekol was excellent when he said: everyone is sick and tired of this, it’s time to move on. The Glazers have either got to stick or twist and make a decision sometime soon.
“I messaged a Manchester United mate of mine before coming on asking which out of Qatar or Sir Jim Ratcliffe he would prefer and he immediately said the Sheikh because it would be complete ownership, the Manchester United fans are completely sick and tired of the Glazer family and do not want that ownership anymore.”
Sourse: skysports.com
