Manchester United have been the subject of lengthy takeover speculation over the last 12 months after the Glazer family, who are closing in on 20 years of majority ownership of the club, announced that they were open to offers.
Sheikh Jassim and his Qatari consortium went head-to-head with Sir Jim Ratcliffe, a boyhood United supporter, in several rounds of bidding to buy the club outright from the American owners.
None of the offers presented during talks were convincing enough for the Glazers to relinquish control of the club but on Saturday, there have been major developments.
Earlier on Saturday evening, it was revealed that Sheikh Jassim had decided to pull out of the race to buy the club after his latest proposal was rejected out of hand by the Glazers.
Now, it is being reported that Ratcliffe is making headway in his bid to eventually assume total control of the Old Trafford club. That’s according to the Daily Mail, who say that Ratcliffe is set to acquire 25% of the club, with the move set to be ratified in a meeting this week.
As per the report, the deal is set to be closed at £1.3 – 1.4bn, which does not meet the Glazers’ £6bn valuation but was still sufficient to seal a deal.
Fans will be disappointed to learn that the outcome of the Glazers seeking outside investment is the sale of a minority stake but it is also reported that from Ratcliffe’s point of view, this is the first step in his plan to eventually assume total control.
It must be remembered that it was also this way the Glazers took control of the club when they initially purchased a minority stake in 2003 before taking full control two years later.
