Manchester United could follow the lead of Liverpool and seek a minority partner as opposed to a full sale after a new name arrived at the table for talks.
Just days after Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group had opened themselves up to minority investment and also a potential outright sale back in November, Manchester United owners, the Glazer family, put the Red Devils on the market.
That move, something which made the FSG search more complex due to two major assets being in play at the same time, has seen a number of interested parties show their hand in recent weeks, with head of the Qatar Islamic Bank, Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al-Thani, and British billionaire and founder of chemical giant INEOS, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the two most prominent names.
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But finding a buyer who will meet the asking price of the Glazer family, believed to be close on £7bn, has been challenging, with the bidding process now entering a third round and the Glazer family, whose ownership of United has been deeply unpopular with fans ever since their leveraged buyout of the club in 2005, believed to be now more open to retaining control and selling part of their stake in the club.
That move is something that FSG have been actively pursuing for some months with regards to Liverpool, with Mike Gordon, Jurgen Klopp’s closest ally within FSG, having been seconded to head up the initial search for investment, which was facilitated by US investment banks Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs.
In an exclusive interview with the ECHO last month, FSG chief and Reds principal owner John W. Henry revealed that the process had “identified potential investors”. It is understood that the Reds process has now advanced to the next stage and Gordon’s resumed involvement with his wider portfolio within the company, which includes Liverpool.
While the sale of a piece of the Reds to a minority partner edges closer for FSG, with the potential that talks could reach a positive conclusion by the summer, Manchester United’s owners now have more options with regards to selling a partial stake to a third party than they do for an outright sale, meaning that their tenure at Old Trafford could be set to continue for some time.
Sky News reports that the latest name to enter the frame to potentially take a partial stake in United is that of US private equity giant Carlyle Group, with more than £300m of assets under management. Sky describe the interest as ‘serious’ and that discussions had been ongoing for some time.
Another name that has been linked with the potential purchase of a minority stake in United is that of Elliott Management, the New York-based investment fund that sold AC Milan to RedBird Capital Partners, the firm that owns 11 per cent of FSG, in September of last year.
Minority investment will not go down well with fans of Manchester United who have campaigned against the running of the club and its on-pitch decline and growing debt for some time.
The potential partners that United may look towards with regards to partial investment will likely be of a different make-up to the ones that FSG will be engaged with.
The ECHO was told by well-placed sources in the US back in November that a ‘strategic partner’ was what FSG were seeking, a firm that could not only provide capital but also help them bridge the gap with regards to expertise to build the business into the future and drive forward growth and value. That move could come through a minority investment from a media or entertainment company, although any names mentioned thus far have been speculative, with FSG keeping their cards close to their chest in terms of interested parties.
Manchester United’s share price on the New York Stock Exchange fell from $23 to £21.68 per share in reaction to further indications that the Glazer family may be retaining their ownership of the club. It had been as high as $26 per share when the sale talk was at its peak last month.
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