Sir Jim Ratcliffe submitted a second bid for the takeover of Manchester United on Thursday afternoon after having requests for an extension on the original deadline granted by the Raine Group.
Current owners the Glazer family had set a second deadline of 9pm on Wednesday evening in which prospective suitors had to table an offer by, having set an initial soft deadline back in February. Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani were thought to have both submitted offers by that deadline, although late-night reports that neither were received caused concern.
Both parties, believed to be the two front-runners, asked for an extension of the deadline which was subsequently granted by Raine Group, the merchant bank overseeing the sale process on behalf of the Glazers. And now INEOS owner Ratcliffe has tabled a second offer, thought to be an improvement on the initial proposal of around £4billion.
