What the Glazers want and who is in the running to buy Old Trafford club
Takeover offers for Manchester United are due to be tabled within the next nine days, with the Glazer family still open to a potential deal that could be completed by April.
Q How much do the Glazers want for an outright sale?
A Potential investors say an offer beyond £5billion would be entertained, but a final price will become clearer this month as it emerges who is bidding. The involvement of a Middle East sovereign wealth fund, for instance, will have a significant impact on the ceiling for a deal.
Some investors to express early interest were said to have pushed back on that price, pointing out Premier League rivals Chelsea were sold last summer for £2.5billion. However, others have since come to the market and there is belief that a £5billion-plus price tag is achievable.
While brothers Joel and Avram Glazer are in overall charge at United, a sale would have to be agreed by all the siblings with stakes in the club and there have been notable differences of opinion within the family. There will be little opportunity to low-ball with full takeover offers under £5billion. A top price is required to lessen any chance of disputes over whether to vote the deal through.
Q Only Sir Jim Ratcliffe has publicly declared formal interest – who else is in the running?
A American bidders – including some of those who inquired about Chelsea – and a mystery Arab investment group are seen as leading the race. Candidates in the United States, the Middle East and even Asia have privately expressed formal interest.
Suggestions that Dubai is interested have been dismissed, insiders pointing out the nation has been propped up by funds from Abu Dhabi, which owns Manchester City. Instead, industry specialists point to countries in the Middle East, where investment interest in football is fiercest – Qatar and, to a lesser extent, Saudi Arabia. State ownerships of Paris St-germain and Newcastle United complicate matters, but there is growing appetite in Doha for a seat at the Premier League’s top table.
Of those two nations, the involvement of a Qatar-linked investment group would be more palatable to a beefed-up owners’ and directors’ testing system.
Q Can Qatar own two different clubs?
A The Qatar Sports Investment group, which owns PSG, is exploring potential additional investment in the Premier League. However, given Uefa regulations against owning two potential Champions League rivals, sources play down the prospect of a QSI takeover attempt any time soon. Nasser Al-khelaifi, the most senior sporting powerbroker in Qatar, instead met Tottenham’s Daniel Levy last month to test his interest.
However, other senior figures maintain a United deal involving Qatari investors is a possibility.
Q Where does that leave Ratcliffe?
A The British billionaire, who owns the petrochemical giant Ineos, announced he had joined the process within an hour of formal talks with dealmakers.
Like the other parties involved, he has signed forms committing to a non-disclosure agreement. He is among many others who have reached that preliminary stage – but Ratcliffe knows he is the candidate who will be the easiest political sell, as a lifelong United fan and Oldham boy. Ratcliffe has amassed a £6.33billion personal fortune, but United will be uncertain whether he is willing to meet the Glazers’ asking price, having initially walked away from talks with Chelsea last year.
“Ratcliffe is never going to blow himself up to do it,” said one expert with close dealings with Ineos.
Q When could a takeover go through?
A Senior figures have been pushing for interested parties to table formal offers ideally by the end of next week. The timescale allows for the club to stick with instructions to have a deal completed before the end of this season. With that in mind, different prices depending on Champions League qualification could be factored in. Formal bids will be taken for total buyouts as well as minority stakes.
New York-based investment bank the Raine Group, which declined to comment when contacted by Telegraph Sport, remains the first port of call for interested parties. Richard Arnold, the United chief executive, said that any new investors would be urged to work closely with fans. There appears still to be flexibility around deadlines, but the club aim to complete a deal within the first quarter, or by the end of April.