Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s bid to complete a takeover of Manchester United appears to have faltered with Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani now leading the race to complete a deal.
The Red Devils have been up for sale since November with the INEOS owner and the Qatari billionaire emerging as the front-runners to become the club’s new owners. Both have lodged numerous bids for the Old Trafford outfit but the process has since appeared to grind to a halt.
The Glazers - and the facilitators of a sale, the Raine Group - have yet to name a preferred bidder. That delay has led to continued protests against the much-criticised American owners.
However, supporters might have renewed hope of a deal with Sheikh Jassim moving ahead in the race. It is said that the Qatari is increasingly confident of winning the battle to acquire Man United.
This all follows a development with Ratcliffe’s proposed offer. According to Bloomberg, the 70-year-old’s bid for the Red Devils is 'dead in the water'. They state it is because he is proposing a structure to buy out the Glazers, whilst he is unwilling to offer anything to the minority stakeholders already in situ.
Those stakeholders are said to have made it abundantly clear to the current Old Trafford board via a formal letter that they would threaten legal action should they be discounted from any deal. It is further reported that Ratcliffe’s bid would then not be sanctioned “under any circumstances” by the club’s current directors.
The only solution to that impasse would be to either restructure that bid or hold talks with the current stakeholders to alleviate the threat. That would then effectively render Ratcliffe’s bid for United as irrelevant in the current process, albeit CBS report that INEOS sources have not been informed that they are officially out of the race.
Do you think a takeover will be complete by next season? Share your predictions in the comments belowElsewhere, Sheikh Jassim is attempting to complete a full takeover of the Red Devils which would make the purchase far more straightforward. Whilst that is the case, the Glazers could still perform a dramatic U-turn over their intentions for the club.
It is reported by Bloomberg that the Americans could still decide to remain at Old Trafford whilst taking on external investment. A number of parties have expressed their interested in investing into the Red Devils.
American firms Carlye, Elliott Management, Ares Management Corporation and Sixth Street are all said to have made offers to purchase a minority stake at Old Trafford.
United's owners have been in charge since 2005, and oversaw the club's listing on the New York Stock Exchange in 2012.
In that time, they have overseen unprecedented success - United’s standout period coming under the stewardship of Sir Alex Ferguson. Despite that, fans have regularly protested against their presence at Old Trafford.
