The impending sale of Manchester United has taken yet another turn after the deadline for third and final bids for the club was passed last week.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS firm and Sheikh Jassim’s Qatari consortium are believed to be the only parties to have made offers for full control of the club, with bidders expected to receive responses to their proposals within 7-10 days of their offers being lodged.
Following the third round of bids, supporters were concerned after it emerged that Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s bid to buy the club offered the Glazer family, majority owners of the club since 2005, the chance to remain involved.
Now, in another highly dramatic turn of events, it has been revealed that despite those initial reports, Ratcliffe’s bid does include the total removal of the Glazer family at Old Trafford.
According to Sky Sports, Ratcliffe’s £5bn proposal would see him complete a full takeover of the club by 2026, which would see the Glazers shareholders status come to an end within three years.
As per the report, the option to buy the Glazers out of their remaining shares after they relinquish a majority stake this year comes in the form of a clause. The first exercisable window comes after three years.
It’s also stated that it cannot be totally confirmed that Ratcliffe’s offer exceeds Sheikh Jassim’s, with the Qatari multi-billionaire seeking to acquire 100% of the shares.
In addition to the two offers to acquire the club outright, it is believed that the Glazer family have received four offers for the sale of a minority stake, which would see the Glazer family remain as majority shareholders and thus maintain full control of the club.
SN’s verdict…
Supporters were outraged at the idea of Ratcliffe offering the Glazer family the chance to stay at the club and this is a positive development, to say the least.
Ratcliffe’s bid, if successful, would see the Glazers hold a minority stake until 2026 if the buy-out clause is exercised. Full control of the club would, however, be with INEOS.