Last week Manchester United opened its doors to potential buyers to scrutinize senior officials from the club’s hierarchy.
It was the most significant public development since the Glazers announced they were selling the club in November.
Boots on the Ground have added an air of seriousness to the negotiations and the parties now have until the end of the game on Wednesday (5pm East Coast; 9pm UK) to submit another bid.
The first to visit Old Trafford last Thursday was a delegation representing Qatari King Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani. The party included Shahzad Shahbaz, President of Sheikh Jassim’s Nine Two Foundation, and Fady Bakhos, his senior personal adviser.
Bakhos is exceptionally close to Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, better known as HBJ, the former Prime Minister and father of Sheikh Jassim.
Next in line on Friday was Sir Jim Ratcliffe, owner and founder of petrochemical giant INEOS. He was accompanied by senior officials from his company, including Sir David Brailsford, the former British cycling manager who is now INEOS’ sporting director; INEOS co-owners Andy Currie and John Reece; INEOS Sport Chairman Rob Nevin and CEO Jean Claude Blanc.
So what is the state of play regarding a Manchester United sale with another deadline fast approaching?
The Athletic tells you…
Who are the top bidders?
Sheikh Jassim and Ratcliffe are the two most public and well-known bidders for United.
The Qatari king, son of the former prime minister and chairman of Qatar bank QIB, says he is a lifelong Manchester United fan.
One of Britain’s richest people, Ratcliffe grew up about seven miles north-east of United’s Old Trafford stadium. The 2018 edition of The Sunday Times Rich List put his fortune at £21.05 billion ($25.4 billion).
Ratcliffe leaves Old Trafford on Friday (Picture: Peter Byrne/PA Images via Getty Images)
Were their original bids similar?
They were – but neither are believed to have exceeded £5billion and the two bids were for different stakes.
Sheikh Jassim wants to complete a full takeover of United, meaning he would buy the 69 percent owned by the Glazer family and then the remaining 31 percent made up of smaller investors.
The Qatari has made several pledges to invest in specific areas of the club without leaving United in debt following a full cash buyout.
However, Ratcliffe is bidding for the 69 percent of the Glazers and is not offering to buy out the remaining shareholders at this stage.
He would need to borrow money to fund a takeover and INEOS has not committed to paying the club’s debts, which total £656million, although those close to his bid have assured the club will not new debts are imposed.
How did the bidder meetings at United go?
This was “phase two” in which bidders are given an opportunity to inspect the books and ask questions of United officials.
Sheikh Jassim’s delegation spent 10 hours at the club, poring over the accounts line by line and looking at the projected forecasts. The strict sessions lasted until 7.30 p.m.
Sheikh Jassim was not present, instead bankers and lawyers were there for him.
Ratcliffe was greeted outside the stadium by United chief executive Richard Arnold.
As INEOS already owns a football club – French club Nice – Ratcliffe’s camp came to the meetings with a good knowledge of United and the sporting business in general and did not have to deal with how broadcast contracts, player contracts etc. worked.
After finishing at Old Trafford, the INEOS delegation headed to Carrington, the club’s training ground, for further meetings.
United first-team manager Erik ten Hag happened to be in the building when Ratcliffe was there.
“I just met her, we shook hands, but I’m focused on the game,” Ten Hag said. “Others at the club have been looking at potential investors.”
Ahead of United’s FA Cup win over Fulham on Sunday, the pre-match press conference was moved from the Jimmy Murphy Center to the main building in Carrington as the usual press facilities were used for takeover sessions.
United manager Ten Hag spoke to Ratcliffe in Carrington (Picture: Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images)
John Murtough, the club’s director of football, was part of the group presenting Sheikh Jassim and Ratcliffe. Collette Roche, Chief Operating Officer, and Cliff Baty, Chief Financial Officer also took part in the discussions.
The Glazer family initially kept United’s hierarchy out of the ordinary, but as the process develops, senior officials will need to be involved.
Anyone else in the running?
So far we know that Elliott Investment Management, the US hedge fund, contacted Raine, the bank handling the sale for the Glazer family. Elliott has offered to help fund a takeover, implying it would fund the Glazers if a sale doesn’t go through.
For example, Joel and Avram Glazer could attempt to buy out their other siblings (Kevin, Bryan, Darcie and Edward) although that borrowing would likely be used against the club as opposed to the two individuals.
Other investment groups similar to Elliott — including Ares Management, which declined to comment on its involvement at a recent event — are also said to have offered their capital to potential bidders and the Glazer family.
Will Raine hope for further bids?
Absolutely. Competitive pressures are driving the price up, so the Glazers hired Handelsbank to facilitate a potential sale. That has yet to happen, at least publicly.
Although Raine is managed by Joe Ravitch, it is Colin Neville who is leading the process for the bank and was pictured in Manchester with the Qatari delegation.
What is the next important date in the process?
The bidders have until the end of the game on Wednesday to submit their next bids and the two main parties remain adamant they will not overpay for United.
It remains to be seen if their bids represent an improvement over what they submitted the first time.
Likewise, the Glazers have set a price and if this is not met they will not feel any additional pressure to sell the club.
(Photo above: Getty Images)