Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani has made an improved and final bid to purchase Manchester United from the Glazer family. This is according to multiple reports on Tuesday. Sheikh Jassim has indeed submitted a “take it or leave it” final offer.
No more haggling or bartering, and that is refreshing, given how this process has been dragging on long enough already.
The Glazers announced back in November that they were open to potentially selling the club, as well as exploring other options that included outside investment.
Then in February bidding began with Sheikh Jassim and British petrochemicals billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe going back and forth in the front-runner roles.
Here we are in mid-May and we’re still not near a resolution.
(Sky Sports did a piece today that includes the full timeline of key events).
Ratcliffe went back in front last week, as he submitted a takeover bid that would allow the Glazers to stay on, with a 20% stake in the club. That is reportedly the preferred option of the Glazers, but Sheikh Jassim is going all in.
He has been the only bidder willing to buy 100% of the club, and with his new bid, he’s now upped the price to close to 5 billion pounds (or $6.31 billion).
This news sent Manchester United stock up, slightly, on Tuesday.
Shares were trading up to the tune of 1.2%.
However, there is a reason that Finnish business man Thomas Zilliacus, who submitted a bid for the club before later dropping out, called this whole process “a farce.“
The Glazers reportedly value the club at 6 billions pounds, or $7.47 billion. It is not likely they can get a serious bid at that amount.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
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