Man Utd takeover: Jassim, Ratcliffe eagerly await the Glazers’ decision
The two major bidders for the take-over of Manchester United Football Club – Sheikh Jassim of Qatar and Sir Jim Ratcliffe are eagerly awaiting the sell decision of the owners, the Glazer family of the United States.
Even though most fans of the darling English club would prefer Sheikh Jassim to acquire the club from the Glazers, Sir Jim remains a strong contender for the sale.
On paper, the deal seems to be in favour of the Qatari magnate as he submitted what is believed to be a heavy bid with his ‘fifth and final bid’ on Friday. This assertion is based on the fact that the Glazers are very much interested in getting the biggest money for their stakes in the club.
On Friday, it was speculated that Sheikh Jassim would leave his offer for United on the table, despite previously vowing to abandon the pursuit of his fifth offer wasn’t accepted. Even though the rumours that a Qatari billionaire is liaising with Paris Saint-Germain owner Nasser Al-Khelaifi has been debunked, many still believe that the Qatari connection might play a big role in determining who the Glazers will sell to.
But yet Ben Jacobs, a top British journalist, believes that the Americans are keeping all their options open to maximize their gains in the sell-off and as such are playing the two bidders against each other.
“Each has been forced to do a lot of very advanced work in terms of due diligence, and logistics, which would commonly be associated with a preferred bidder in an exclusive period,” he told GiveMeSport.
“But we have two groups doing them, so two groups are being put on the brink of almost being ready to acquire Manchester United football club without actually knowing yet whether or not they’ll be successful.
“And that’s why the process has been so uncertain,” Jacobs told the media.
But Jacobs like many people believed that Sheikh Jassim’s latest bid might be the joker in the deal.
“Both Sheikh Jassim and INEOS want the deal done as soon as possible,” he said.
“From the Nine Two Foundation’s perspective, the fifth offer is improved, and it’s pushing $ 6.5 billion.
“I use dollars because that is the currency of the actual transaction.
“The Nine Two Foundation argue that, on top of that, there is $ 1 billion of pledged investment.
“The pledged investment is irrelevant to the process, but vital to Manchester United.
“But the Glazers are only looking at one number, which is the club’s valuation. Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s club valuation remains higher.
“The thing to understand about the Nine Two Foundation is that their offer clears the debt, values the club and has pledged investment on top.
“It sounds very appealing as far as the future and health of Manchester United is concerned.”
