Sheikh Jassim Bid for Man Utd

Sir Jim Ratcliffe is closing in on the takeover of Manchester United, with his Ineos company emerging as the Glazer family’s preferred bidder. Ratcliffe’s offer for a majority stake valued the club at closer to £6bn, while the Qatari-backed bid was worth around £5bn for a full takeover. An official announcement confirming Ratcliffe as the preferred bidder is expected to come within days, at which point the final details of the sale can be discussed and due diligence completed. However, the Qatari party are not prepared to simply accept defeat and could respond with an 11th-hour improved offer to tempt the Glazers to reconsider. Joel and Avram Glazer, two of the siblings, will retain a 20 per cent stake in the club as part of Ratcliffe’s proposal, which is believed to have been a deal-clincher. Ratcliffe is likely to seek to gain full control of United within three years, but the current structuring of the takeover will allow for greater up-front spending on transfers and upgrading both Old Trafford and the Carrington training ground. The Qatari bid has been further hampered by the collapse of Credit Suisse in March, which is believed to have cost Qatar’s Investment Authority billions. It remains to be seen if Joel and Avram are prepared to give up their stakes, but there is still room for the Qatari bid to increase their offer and force a rethink from the Glazers.