On Man Utd takeover latest: Sheikh Jassim ‘prepares documents’ for ‘immediate takeover’ amid Glazer ‘red herring’ – takeover could be completed soon
Sheikh Jassim is reportedly ‘preparing transactional documents’ so that his takeover of Manchester United can go through immediately if his bid is accepted, while the fans have been warned of the Glazer ‘red herring’.
Raine Group – who are in charge of the sale of the club – are yet to name a preferred bidder with both Sheikh Jassim and rival Sir Jim Ratcliffe still in the dark over the sale process.
Recent reports suggest the Qatari banker will be successful, though the Glazer kids are unconvinced, with ‘internal disputes’ leading them to put the brakes on.
United fans were told the Glazers were looking for a quick sale, that was a ‘red herring’, according to commercial and finance sports expert, Professor Rob Wilson.
Contenders are willing to pay the inflated £6bn price the Glazers want because of the club’s potential off the field and that was always going to lead to a drawn-out process, Wilson told the Manchester Evening News.
“The reason someone would want to buy Manchester United is because it’s probably one of the most financially successful sport properties on the planet,” Wilson said.
“If you look at the UFC merger, that puts them in the region of $20billion in terms of valuation. If you start factoring in Manchester United’s global following, I don’t think it’s beyond reason if they produce success, that in the next 10 years we could see a $10billion valuation go on to United.
“The key thing with the Glazer ownership is the quiddity of the business, because of the way they have leveraged part of the club, which creates quiddity and naturally makes it harder for them to compete in the transfer market to the extent fans would want them to give their revenue.
“Which is why they probably need a strategic investment which is what they initially set out for, or this full sale that is likely to go through.
“But this sort of stuff can take a year comfortably, it’s so complicated because of the leverage, the Glazers, the way the board is made up and the flotation on the New York Stock Exchange.
“I think fans have been sold a red herring that these deals can be completed quickly because they simply can’t.”
But Sheikh Jassim is ‘preparing transactional documents’ according to The Athletic.
‘Sheikh Jassim’s team are preparing transactional documents, including shareholder agreements, so that the takeover can go through immediately if their bid is accepted, but they are yet to hear back from the Glazers and the timeline for the next steps is unclear.’
