When the early signs of the Glazer family’s willingness to relinquish control of Manchester United started to emerge, there was optimism that a full sale of the club could have been completed within the first quarter of 2023.
That did not materialise and as things are continuing to develop, the Glazer family are engineering a protracted sale and bidders are now, according to reports, growing increasingly frustrated with the lack of communication.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS firm and Qatar’s Sheikh Jassim are the leading candidates to have submitted bids to acquire the club from the American owners but over two weeks have passed since the revised bids were lodged.
The second round of offers came after initial exploratory bids were tabled and both parties held extensive meetings with the club at Old Trafford and the club’s Carrington training base.
Now, it is being reported that those involved in takeover talks are becoming frustrated with how long it is taking for their bids to be responded to.
That’s according to the Daily Mail, who say that after growing frustrated at waiting more than two weeks for a response, there are now worries that the latest delay may mean that any prospective sale will not be completed in time for new owners to oversee the summer transfer window.
As per the report, after bids were submitted in the final week of March, parties involved were expecting to hear back from Raine Group, the firm negotiating on the Glazer family’s behalf, within a week.
Furthermore, it’s claimed that the bids lodged by Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim are believed to be in the region of £5bn – with the Glazer family seeking closer to £6bn.
The report also goes on to explain that the Glazer family has two options if they wish to proceed with the sale – enter exclusivity with one of the bidders or attempt to extend the bidding war by opening a third round of offers.