- Sheikh Jassim Will Not Increase His Bid Despite New Sir Ratcliffe Offer.
The Qatari group bidding for ownership of Manchester United will not increase their existing offer despite the threat of the new offer made by Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
The British businessman tabled a £1.25 billion bid for a 25% stake earlier in the week – a move The Times suggests could be part of a “staged takeover” at Old Trafford.
The prospect of this tactic was covered in a report by The Peoples Person last week.
Our assessment was the offer constitutes an attempt to “unblock” the impasse the takeover process has reached.
Which would fall in line with a potential long-term plan for INEOS (Ratcliffe’s company) to assume full ownership of the club by 2026, through the incremental acquiral of further shares.
The Times’ report contends the revised offer also removes the issues in Ratcliffe’s original offer, which may have been subject to threats of potential litigation.
“Some holders of the publicly traded A shares were preparing to launch a legal challenge if Ratcliffe limited his deal to the B shares — which carry more voting rights — owned by the Glazers. As it is, the new deal would involve Ratcliffe buying a mixture of A and B shares,” Matt Lawson and Matt Dickinson reveal.
An insider, privy to the full complexity of the process, describe Ratcliffe’s newest offer as “feasible.”
The Times journalists contend the Qatari group – headed by Sheikh Jassim – will not revise their final offer, however, regardless of the prospect of the rival bid being more amenable to the Glazer family.
Sources close to the Qatari camp believe the news of Ratcliffe’s bid, as well as the professed viability of it, amounts to another “pressure tactic” designed to make them “increase their bid.”
The Glazer valuation of United – a figure around £6 billion – is considered unrealistic, given the pre-existing debt accrued at the club, the current state of the facilities (Old Trafford and Carrington are both in desperate need of modernisation) and the success of the club on the pitch.
The Qataris believe a £5 billion offer to be more than fair. And they appear to be unwilling to budge on this.
Perhaps this latest development could signal the beginning of the end to a saga which is rapidly approaching the twelve month mark.
