A consortium led by Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani announced on Friday that it had submitted an offer to take full control of Manchester United, with British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe also reported to have lodged the widely anticipated bid. Was.
“Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani today confirmed the submission of a 100 per cent bid for Manchester United Football Club,” his press release said ahead of Friday’s ‘soft’ deadline for bidders.
Ratcliffe’s Ineos company is the only other bidder to have officially declared interest.
The Daily Telegraph reported late on Friday that it had told US merchant bank Rhine Group, which is pursuing a sale, could be a “long-term patron for the club”.
A BBC report said that Ratcliffe had submitted a bid before the 2200GMT deadline.
A bid from Saudi Arabia was also expected.
The statement by Sheikh Jassim, president of Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB), did not give any details on the amount proposed in the bid for United.
However, according to reports, the price could reach a record $6 billion.
This would be in stark contrast to the controversial 2005 leveraged takeover by the US-based Glazer family, the current owners of the club.
United currently has over $620 million in debt.
The bid, announced on Friday, will be “completely debt-free” through Sheikh Jassim’s Nine to Foundation, which will “seek to invest in the football teams, training centre, stadium and wider infrastructure, fan experience and communities supported by the club”. .
The Glazers announced in November that they were open to selling or investing in the record 20-time English champion, prompting talk of a bidding war between Qatari and Saudi Arabian interests.
But with United’s shares trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), brokers working for the club will be obliged to consider offers even after Friday’s ‘soft’ deadline expires.
United shares rose nearly two percent in after-hours trading after the Qatari bid was announced. They had closed down 1.9 percent on the NYSE on Friday.
Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim, 41, both educated at Britain’s elite Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst, both claim to be joint fans from boyhood.
A source close to his chemical company Ineos told the Telegraph that locally-born Ratcliffe “wants to bring Manchester back to Manchester United”.
Highly unpopular among supporters since a £790 million ($961m) takeover saddled the club with huge debt in 2005, the Glazers angered fans further by backing the failed European Super League project in 2021.
The Telegraph reported that sources close to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) were downplaying the prospect of a state-backed bid given their existing involvement in rival Premier League club Newcastle United.
A $6 billion sale price for the three-time European champions would break the record fee for a football club, set by Chelsea last year.
A consortium led by LA Dodgers co-owner Todd Bohly and private equity firm Clearlake Capital paid £2.5 billion for the Blues, as well as pledging a further £1.75 billion in infrastructure and players.
Any Saudi investment in the United Kingdom would anger human rights groups, who railed against the Gulf country following the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
A Qatari takeover would be opposed on similar grounds, with Peter Frankenthal, director of economic affairs at Amnesty UK, saying it would represent “a continuation of this state-backed sportswashing project”.
The Emirates also control French champions Paris Saint-Germain.
But a statement issued late on Friday by Sheikh Jasim insisted he was a private individual with no ties to Qatar. Play The investment group that owns PSG.
United, one of the most successful clubs in English football history, have not won the Premier League since 2013 and have failed to win any silverware since 2017.
They are third in the Premier League after an improvement in form under manager Erik ten Haag, who took over before the start of the current campaign.
United face Newcastle in the League Cup final at Wembley on 26 February.
The first leg of their Europa League knockout round play-off tie saw United draw 2-2 at Barcelona on Thursday, with Ten Haag insisting speculation about the club’s future will not prove a distraction for his side.
Ten Haag said, “We are following it.”
He said: “I concentrate on football.”
read all Latest sports news Here
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)