Manchester United offers include Qatari Sheikh Jim Ratcliffe and Elliott
A member of the Qatari royal family and Britain’s richest man has submitted bids to acquire Manchester United Plc, while Elliott Investment Management LP stands ready to provide the financing as the bidding process for the English football giants tightens.
According to a person familiar with the matter, billionaire Paul Singer’s Elliott management has made a proposal to help fund bids for the club. Elliott is not bidding for the club itself, the person said.
Elliott’s interest was confirmed after Jassim bin Hamad bin Jaber Al Thani, the chairman of the Qatar Islamic Bank and son of the country’s former prime minister, emailed on Friday explaining his bid to buy the English Premier League club. The Qataris’ opening bid could value Manchester United, currently owned by the US Glazer family, at around £5 billion ($6 billion), Bloomberg News previously reported.
“The bid aims to restore the club to its former glory both on and off the pitch and – most importantly – strive to put the fans back at the heart of Manchester United Football Club,” Sheikh Jassim wrote in the Explanation.
Also on Saturday, British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, a Manchester United fan who has already eyed financing from banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and his company Ineos Group, said they have submitted a bid for a majority stake in the club.
“We would see our role as Manchester United’s long-term trustees on behalf of the fans and the wider community,” the statement said. Ratcliffe and Ineos vowed to “bring the Manchester back to Manchester United” and said they would focus on winning the Champions League.
competitive offers
First bids for the club were due on Friday. The Qatari group’s debt-free bid includes investments in the team, training center and stadium and will come through Sheikh Jassim’s Nine Two Foundation. The amount of the offer was not disclosed in the statement.
The Qatari group includes Sheikh Jassim’s father, Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, who was the head of the Qatar Investment Authority as well as prime minister, Bloomberg reported. Sheikh Jassim, who was previously a director of Credit Suisse Group AG, was educated in the UK at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and is said to be a lifelong Manchester United fan.
A deal for Manchester United could represent the largest acquisition of a professional sports club ever, potentially surpassing the $4.65 billion agreed last year for the NFL team by a group led by Walmart Inc. heir Rob Walton Denver Broncos were paid.
New York bank Raine Group is advising the Glazers on the sale of the club, whose New York-listed shares have doubled since November as takeover speculation mounts, giving the company a market value of about $4.3 billion.
Chelsea, PSG
UK and European teams are attracting increasing interest from foreign investors. This includes the £2.5bn takeover of Chelsea Football Club by a US group led by Clearlake Capital and Todd Boehly. AC Milan, Atletico Madrid, Crystal Palace and Genoa CFC are all among the clubs with private equity owners, including from the US.
Buoyed by Qatar, which hosted last year’s World Cup, Qatar Sports Investments has considered matches for Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool FC, as well as Manchester United, Bloomberg News reported. QSI already owns Paris Saint-Germain, the club side of Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe, two of the biggest stars of the Qatar games.
If successful, Sheikh Jassim’s group may need to convince UEFA that they are sufficiently independent from QSI to allow PSG and Manchester United to play in the same European competition.
Most Premier League clubs are now majority-owned by foreign investors. These include Newcastle United FC, which was bought by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund in 2021 after waiting a year and a half for league approval.
Manchester United, who have won a record 13 Premier League titles, have consistently managed to win the game’s biggest stars, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
While its dominance of English football has shifted in recent years to crosstown rivals Manchester City FC, who have won multiple accolades since being taken over by Abu Dhabi investors in 2008, Manchester United have recently been experiencing one under new manager Erik Ten Revival of gambling witch.
–Assisted by Alex Longley.
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