The Manchester United takeover is edging closer to a conclusion with the Glazer family at $6.5 and $7 billion and both front runners with bids at the lower end of the scale, according to Ben Jacobs, a journalist who has covered the deal every step of the way.
The sale of the club of a billion fans which is one of the biggest money-making machines in world football is likely to dwarf the recent sale of Chelsea for $2.5 billion. It is also likely to unlock investment and usher in a new era for the club with both bidders pledging to modernise Old Trafford and build up its training facilities. The only question is when?
“It is decision time!”
“I think we are beyond now the groups making sweeping offers and changing the dynamic of the process. You have got two groups that feel like they are already doing tasks that we would traditionally associate with a preferred bidder and that’s unusual because a lot of the tasks they are doing are normally reserved for one preferred bidder…I think we are beyond now the Glazers trying to manufacture new bids – it is decision time!” says Jacobs.
‘The takeover process is, albeit slowly, coming to a conclusion. As soon as the Glazers are happy with a valuation and a structure there is no reason for them to delay either, because quite clearly if they choose to leave, the last thing they want to do is have this drag on either because they will be responsible for the summer window. If the season starts and they are still in charge there are going to be protests and outrage – so it is not in their interests to mess around.”
Who are the bidders?
A front runner is a debt-free bid put forward by the Qatar-based group led by Sheikh Jassim that wants to own 100% of Manchester United.
The other is like a throwback to the club takeovers of the 1970s. Lifelong Manchester United supporter and local businessman Jim Ratcliffe is bidding for a majority stake in the club.
The takeover has dragged on for eight months and has been like slow torture for Manchester United’s success-starved fans. It is ten years since United won the Premier League in the last days of the legendary manager of Alex Ferguson; in the last decade rivals Manchester City – awash with Middle East money – have established clear dominance winning the title six times.
Who are the Glazers?
The Glazer years at United began in 2005 promising much, but delivering little on and off the pitch. The family, worth $3.9 billion, according to Forbes, owned the NFL club the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The late patriarch of the New York family, Malcolm Malcolm Glazer, sold watches door-to-door, at the age of 15 to support his family. His children
The Glazer tenure has angered many fans. Many feel the club’s infrastructure and training facilities are crumbling through under-investment.
Controversy lingers over Glazer’s purchase
There is also controversy over how Malcolm Glazer bought into Manchester United. Reports say he paid a mere £272 million for a club worth an estimated £810 million; levering the rest of the price with debts of around £540 million that linger at the club now.
This large-scale leverage deal would not be possible under new Premier League rules that say only two-thirds of a takeover deal can be leveraged.
New buyout rules are not that clear cut
Kieran Maguire, a business of football expert at Liverpool University warns that this new rule may not be as cut-and-dried as it appears.
“The new rules in respect of leveraged buyouts is more a case of style over substance. It appears you are not able to borrow more than two-thirds of the purchase price at the date of acquisition of the club, so, for example, if you are buying Manchester United for $6 billion, you can borrow four, under a formal leveraged buyout arrangement. That commitment lasts only 12 months, so you could still be debt-financed after being acquired. I think this is a case of the Premier League yet again doing things to try to send a message to the markets and to the Premier League that is very opposed to a regulator and it is trying to keep its house in order,” says Maguire.
With a new season looming over a pile of transfer business to be done, this is financial uncertainty that Manchester United – once the most feared club in Europe – doesn’t need if it is to rebuild.
For now, the club faces a lengthening stint as an also-ran in the Premier League; more likely to elicit sympathy, than envy.
Want more insights on sports, current events, business, industry and more? Sign up for the Matt Haycox newsletter for fresh updates every week.
Manchester United Takeover News
“It is decision time!” the United takeover edges closer.
The Manchester United takeover is edging closer to a conclusion with the Glazer family at $6.5 and $7 billion and both front runners with bids at the lower end of the scale, according to Ben Jacobs, a journalist who has covered the deal every step of the way.
The sale of the club of a billion fans which is one of the biggest money-making machines in world football is likely to dwarf the recent sale of Chelsea for $2.5 billion. It is also likely to unlock investment and usher in a new era for the club with both bidders pledging to modernise Old Trafford and build up its training facilities. The only question is when?
“It is decision time!”
“I think we are beyond now the groups making sweeping offers and changing the dynamic of the process. You have got two groups that feel like they are already doing tasks that we would traditionally associate with a preferred bidder and that’s unusual because a lot of the tasks they are doing are normally reserved for one preferred bidder…I think we are beyond now the Glazers trying to manufacture new bids – it is decision time!” says Jacobs.
‘The takeover process is, albeit slowly, coming to a conclusion. As soon as the Glazers are happy with a valuation and a structure there is no reason for them to delay either, because quite clearly if they choose to leave, the last thing they want to do is have this drag on either because they will be responsible for the summer window. If the season starts and they are still in charge there are going to be protests and outrage – so it is not in their interests to mess around.”
Who are the bidders?
A front runner is a debt-free bid put forward by the Qatar-based group led by Sheikh Jassim that wants to own 100% of Manchester United.
The other is like a throwback to the club takeovers of the 1970s. Lifelong Manchester United supporter and local businessman Jim Ratcliffe is bidding for a majority stake in the club.
The takeover has dragged on for eight months and has been like slow torture for Manchester United’s success-starved fans. It is ten years since United won the Premier League in the last days of the legendary manager of Alex Ferguson; in the last decade rivals Manchester City – awash with Middle East money – have established clear dominance winning the title six times.
Who are the Glazers?
The Glazer years at United began in 2005 promising much, but delivering little on and off the pitch. The family, worth $3.9 billion, according to Forbes, owned the NFL club the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The late patriarch of the New York family, Malcolm Malcolm Glazer, sold watches door-to-door, at the age of 15 to support his family. His children
The Glazer tenure has angered many fans. Many feel the club’s infrastructure and training facilities are crumbling through under-investment.
Controversy lingers over Glazer’s purchase
There is also controversy over how Malcolm Glazer bought into Manchester United. Reports say he paid a mere £272 million for a club worth an estimated £810 million; levering the rest of the price with debts of around £540 million that linger at the club now.
This large-scale leverage deal would not be possible under new Premier League rules that say only two-thirds of a takeover deal can be leveraged.
New buyout rules are not that clear cut
Kieran Maguire, a business of football expert at Liverpool University warns that this new rule may not be as cut-and-dried as it appears.
“The new rules in respect of leveraged buyouts is more a case of style over substance. It appears you are not able to borrow more than two-thirds of the purchase price at the date of acquisition of the club, so, for example, if you are buying Manchester United for $6 billion, you can borrow four, under a formal leveraged buyout arrangement. That commitment lasts only 12 months, so you could still be debt-financed after being acquired. I think this is a case of the Premier League yet again doing things to try to send a message to the markets and to the Premier League that is very opposed to a regulator and it is trying to keep its house in order,” says Maguire.
With a new season looming over a pile of transfer business to be done, this is financial uncertainty that Manchester United – once the most feared club in Europe – doesn’t need if it is to rebuild.
For now, the club faces a lengthening stint as an also-ran in the Premier League; more likely to elicit sympathy, than envy.
Want more insights on sports, current events, business, industry and more? Sign up for the Matt Haycox newsletter for fresh updates every week.
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