Man Utd takeover: £5.5bn ‘strange twist’ will ‘not benefit’ the Glazers as ‘leaked’ details impact process
According to a finance expert, the Glazer family would “not benefit” from Sheikh Jassim’s improved bid to buy Premier League giants Man Utd.
The Red Devils have been up for sale since last November. The Glazer family stated at the time that they would “evaluate all options” as they attempt to acquire fresh investment for the football club.
Sheikh Jassim and Sir Jim Ratcliffe have consistently led the race to become the club’s new majority stakeholder.
In recent weeks, Ratcliffe has been considered the favourite to gain control of Man Utd. The INEOS chief is willing to keep the Glazer family on board with a reduced stake of around 20%, while Sheikh Jassim is only interested in a full takeover.
In a last-ditch attempt to outdo Ratcliffe, Sheikh Jassim has submitted an improved £5,5bn to the Glazer family.
It remains to be seen whether this proposal will be successful as the Glazer family are yet to name their preferred bidder.
Football Insider finance expert – Kieran Maguire – has broken down this ‘takeover twist’. He does not think Sheikh Jassim’s new bid will push the Glazers into selling Man Utd to him.
“I find the latest proposal strange because it is effectively an increase in the value of the bid, but it doesn’t make any difference to the Glazers as they won’t benefit from it,” Maguire told Football Insider.
“There is an element of PR to this bid, and what we are seeing is selectively leaked information by the press agencies working on behalf of the bidders.
“None of it makes logical sense, but the whole Man United takeover has lost the realms of reality in terms of an appropriate valuation of the business.
“The benefit of clearing the debt and the commitment to not pay dividends is that it will generate an extra £40million per season that the Glazers were taking out of the club.“
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On Tuesday morning, journalist Ben Jacobs indicated that the takeover could be completed “quickly” once the glazers “give the green light to somebody”.
“One of the upsides of the way the process has been framed is even though it appears like we’re delayed over a preferred bidder or any clarity as to what the Glazers are thinking, there are elements of the process that have been completed, that would usually come further down the line in a traditional takeover in a period of exclusivity,” Jacobs told GiveMeSport.
“So, a lot of the due diligence, a lot of the questioning, a lot of the logistics, has perhaps been done earlier, in a slightly transactionally backwards way.
“As a consequence, even though we still wait for the Glazers to give the green light to somebody should they do so, once that green light or if that green light comes, then both groups have a lot more in place at this stage of the process to try and complete a deal as quickly as possible.”
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