The Manchester United takeover process is now being described as “fluid” following last week’s farcical deadline collapse that has fuelled speculation over the possibility of the Glazers remaining in charge.
Yet the declared bidders Sheikh Jassim and Sir Jim Ratcliffe remain the frontrunners, despite the offer for a minority stake from US hedge fund Elliott and another late submission from Finnish entrepreneur Thomas Zilliacus that appears to have been given short shrift by Raine Group, the New York bank in charge of the auction.
Sources have indicated that they hope to receive some indication of the next steps from Raine in the next seven days. But it is unclear whether that will be a decision around a preferred bidder, who would then enter a period of exclusivity and be granted access to sensitive financial documents to complete their due diligence, or a whittling down of options.
