Qatar’s Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim are in the dark over the Glazers’ thinking and timing for the sale of Man United, with stories about the Briton in pole position seen as a game to squeeze out even BIGGER offers
- Ratcliffe’s bid team has not received any indication of their current position
- They feel their offer to leave the Glazers with 20% of the club is attractive
- Bidder Ratcliffe ‘considers Graham Potter to become Nice coach’
The two leading bidders for Manchester United are in the dark about the Glazers’ thinking and the timing of any sale.
Sources close to Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Qatar’s Sheikh Jassim believe stories that Ratcliffe is now in pole position may actually be part of New York bankers Raine’s strategy game to secure even bigger offers from both sides.
Ratcliffe’s bid team have reportedly received no indication of his current position but are confident his offer to leave the Glazers with 20 per cent of the club is attractive.
It’s unclear how such a deal would be constructed, given that a further 31% of the club is owned by non-Glazer shareholders.
But if Ratcliffe bought 49% of the Glazers’ current 69% stake for at least £2.5billion, it would value the club at over £5billion.
Qatar’s Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim are in the dark about the Glazers’ sale of Man United
Stories about Ratcliffe in pole position could actually be part of a strategy game
Those familiar with the thought of Sheikh Jassim of Qatar expect rumors to continue about the ebb and flow of the auction
United’s share price on the New York Stock Exchange had fallen to $18.12 (£14.54) at the close of trading on Friday, giving the club a market capitalization of $2.96 billion (2.38 billion pounds).
Any sale over £5billion would be extraordinary, and yet it seems Raine and the Glazers still think they can get more.
Those familiar with Sheikh Jassim’s thinking expect rumors to continue circulating about the ebb and flow of the auction, and the sheikh remains in the dark as to when things might finally end or in which direction they will go.
It is accepted that Raine and/or the Glazers could simply try to maximize the selling price, but Sheikh Jassim also remains confident in his offer of around £5billion for 100% of the club.
“At the end of the day, it’s up to the Glazers to decide what they want to do and where we go from here,” a source said.
“The process has always been very smooth and, crucially, has never had a fixed timeline – although fans would clearly love one for understandable reasons.”
