A partner at American asset management firm Ares remained coy on talk of Manchester United being taken over in the near future, amid speculation the Stateside operation could form part of a takeover bid.
Mark Affolter refused to comment when asked whether they thought a takeover of United would be completed within the next year at a sports business conference last week. It has previously been reported that the Los Angeles headquartered buyout financier has offered funds to help a potential bidder in their attempts at a United takeover. They are one of three such firms to have done so, with hedge fund Elliot and fellow LA-based firm Oaktree Capital also offering to finance bidders.
Publicly, the only two known parties to have made indicative offers at this stage are chemicals company INEOS, led by chair and chief executive Sir Jim Ratcliffe, and Qatari Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani. INEOS reportedly want to do so without external financing and fund their offer themselves, as does Jassim, but news agency Reuters claimed last month that Ratcliffe and company could consider opening up their bid to a minority equity partner.
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At the Financial Times’ Business of Football Summit in London, Affolter was part of a panel on valuing football clubs. When asked about his opinion on the likelihood of United being sold within 12 months, as reported by the Athletic, the partner at Ares replied: "no comment".
Of the other individuals who did answer, former Bolton Wanderers performance director and ex-Chelsea director of football operations, who has since co-founded sports consultancy firm Sportsology, Mike Forde and Andreea Koenig, a director at French club RC Lens, both believed that the club would not be under new ownership by this time next year. The only panellist who thought it would be done and dusted in the next year was the person behind the football finance blog, the Swiss Ramble.
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