LONDON, Feb 18 — The race to buy Manchester United became a little clearer yesterday when a consortium led by Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani, chairman of Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB), announced that it had submitted an offer to take full control of the Premier League club.
“Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani today confirmed his submission of a bid for 100 per cent of Manchester United Football Club,” his press release said ahead of yesterday ‘soft’ deadline for bidders.
The statement did not give any details on the amount proposed in the bid for the club but the price could reach a record US$6 billion (RM26.59 billion), according to reports.
That would be in contrast to the controversial 2005 leveraged takeover by the US-based Glazer family, the club’s present-day owners.
Manchester United’s players pose for a team picture before the start of the Uefa Europa League match with FC Barcelona at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, on February 16, 2023. — AFP
United currently have debts running at more than US$620 million.
However, the bid announced yesterday will be “completely debt free” via Sheikh Jassim’s Nine Two Foundation which will “look to invest in the football teams, the training centre, the stadium and wider infrastructure, the fan experience and the communities the club supports”.
The Glazers announced in November they were open to a sale or investment of the record 20-times English champions, prompting talk in yesterday’s Daily Telegraph of a bidding battle between Qatari and Saudi Arabian interests.
British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos company is the only other bidder to have officially declared an interest, with The Daily Telegraph reporting yesterday he had told the American merchant bank Raine Group conducting the sale he can be the “long-term custodian for the club”.
But with United’s shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), brokers acting for the club will be obliged to consider offers even after yesterday’s ‘soft’ deadline expires.
United shares rose close to two per cent in after hours trading following the Qatari bid announcement. They had closed down 1.9 per cent on yesterday on the NYSE.
Both Ratcliffe and the 41-year-old Sheikh Jassim, educated at Britain’s elite Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, have claimed to be boyhood United fans.
A source close to chemicals company Ineos told the Telegraph Ratcliffe wanted to be “a long-term custodian of Manchester United,” adding: “As locally born, he wants to put the Manchester back into Manchester United.”
‘Top Qat’
British media reaction to the bids was generally sober but the tabloid Sun opted for a headline of ‘Top Qat’, a reference to the 1960s American animated cartoon ‘Top Cat’.
The Glazers had signalled they were open to both minority investment and a full takeover.
But the latter now appears to be their preferred option.
Deeply unpopular with supporters since they saddled the club with huge debts in a £790 million (RM4.216 billion) leveraged takeover in 2005, the Glazers further angered fans by backing the failed European Super League project in 2021.
The Telegraph reported sources close to the country’s £515 billion Public Investment Fund (PIF) had played down the likelihood of a state-backed bid to the regime given their existing involvement at rival Premier League club Newcastle.
A sale price of £6 billion for the three-time European champions would smash the record fee for a football club set by Chelsea last year.
A consortium led by LA Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly and private equity firm Clearlake Capital paid £2.5 billion for the Blues, with a further £1.75 billion promised in further investment in infrastructure and players.
Any Saudi Arabian investment at United would prompt outrage from human rights groups who have spoken out against the Gulf state following the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
A Qatari takeover would be opposed on similar grounds, with Peter Frankental, Amnesty UK’s economic affairs director, saying it would represent “a continuation of this state-backed sportswashing project”.
A successful Qatari bid would raise sporting questions as well, given the emirate also controls French champions Paris Saint-Germain.
But a statement issued late Friday on behalf of Sheikh Jassim stressed he was a private individual with no links to the Qatar Sports Investment group that owns PSG.
United, one of the most successful clubs in English football history, have not won the Premier League since 2013 and have failed to win any silverware since 2017.
They are third in the Premier League this season after an improvement in form under manager Erik ten Hag, who took over before the start of the current campaign.
United are also set to face Newcastle in the League Cup final at Wembley on February 26.
Thursday saw United draw 2-2 at Barcelona in the first leg of a Europa League knockout round play-off tie, with Ten Hag insisting the speculation about the club’s future would not prove a distraction to his side.
“We are following it,” Ten Hag said. “It’s our club…But we are focusing on football, on training and our way of play, on games.”
He added: “I focus on football. They (the Glazers and United’s officials) are focusing on other parts, departments of the club. How to get everything, for instance, financed.” — AFP
How much has Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani bid for Manchester United?
Following this evening’s announcement from Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani that he has lodged an official bid to buy Manchester United from the Glazer family, rumours about the numbers have started to circulate.
The Glazers had been seeking between €5 – €10billion in exchange for 100% ownership of United.
The club’s value on the New York Stock Exchange fluctuates between figures around the €2.5bn mark.
The Raine Group, who are acting as financial advisors in the takeover process, set a “soft” deadline for parties to submit a bid along with proof of funds: tonight at 10pm UK time.
With such, Sheikh Jassim, the former heir apparent of Qatar, revealed that he had entered the bidding process. The Sheikh claims to be a “life-long MUFC fan.”
As part of an official statement delivered to the press, the Sheikh’s proposal was confirmed:
“Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani today confirmed his submission of a bid for 100 per cent of Manchester United Football Club.
“The bid will be completely debt free via Sheikh Jassim’s Nine Two Foundation, which will look to invest in the football teams, the training centre, the stadium and wider infrastructure, the fan experience and the communities the Club supports.”
L’Équipe journalist Loïc Tanzi has since reported that the offer “on the table” is €4.5bn.
Tanzi did not elaborate whether this bid includes the removal of the Glazer-induced debt from the club, which is around €1bn.
Mohammed Al-Kaabi, who uses the Twitter handle ‘@qatari’, meanwhile, has speculated that the bid is actually “around five billion.”
It is likely, however, that over the coming days reliable journalists will begin to filter through more specific and concrete details about the Sheikh’s bid.
Source: malaymail.com; thepeoplesperson.com
