Qatari Banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani and British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe of INEOS Group have both been approved by Manchester United owners, the Glazer family to progress to the next stage of negotiations to buy the club.
The Glazer family put Manchester United up for sale in November last year after several years of fans calling out for a change in ownership. Last month, Sheikh Jassim and Sir Ratcliffe submitted their respective official bids to buy the club from the Glazers.
It was reported that Sir Ratcliffe’s bid is to buy 69% of the club, the exact stake the Glazer family currently hold, while Sheikh Jassim’s is to buy out 100% of the club and clear their debt as well.
However, according to information from a source close to the secretive talks, none of the parties submitted a bid close to what the Glazers value the club (£6 billion) but there is hope that the next stage of negotiations will yield something, like the bids raised to about £5 billion. This could interest the Glazers.
The Raine Group – an investment firm who are administering the takeover process of Manchester United on behalf of the Glazer family had the two bidders sign non-disclosure agreements in an effort to keep the details about the negotiations as secretive as possible, at least until a final agreement has been reached.
It is understood that Sheikh Jassim and Sir Ratcliffe are now required to divulge more financial details about their bids at this stage of the three-stage negotiations.
A decision on Manchester United’s fate is expected by a few weeks before the end of this season as it is understood the Glazers would not like to go into the transfer window without knowing whether they will still be in charge by the new season, and the bidding parties would like to align their finances with the club in their mind.
