Man Utd takeover – news: Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos submit improved bid for club

Elliott Management have made an offer to buy a minority stake of Manchester United, potentially changing the landscape of the sale. The Independent has been told the bid, which was submitted before Wednesday night’s 9pm deadline, is a small stake of the club. Figures involved with the process have long maintained that the Glazers staying on with such a deal is an option that cannot be ruled out.

The Independent had been told three weeks ago that Elliott was planning a bid for a minority stake, only for the group to say that was “categorically untrue”. While it is maintained that the offer was only decided upon after a tour of United last Thursday, numerous sources insist it has been considered for some time.

The controversial investment group previously owned AC Milan and the move into English football is understood to represent a developing policy on the UK arm of the business.

The United sale process descended into farce on Wednesday when the INEOS and Qatar groups made clear they were submitting bids - with sources even insisting that was already the case - only for both to ask for extensions. The second deadline was nevertheless always seen as “soft”, and there was never any realistic possibility of either major bidder being discounted. Numerous sources meanwhile maintain there has been some frustration with how the process has played out in public.

A Qatari state takeover of Manchester United would be nothing short of an English football travesty, writes Miguel Delaney.

This is a moment of enormity for the sport. The concern is two-fold, both having a multiplying effect on the other to pose a potentially irreversible impact on the game. At its moral core, there is English football’s biggest club being made to represent the biggest problem in football right now. United would be politically used to mitigate one of the most criticised human rights records on earth, centred on a labour system described as modern slavery, consequently making this noble institution complicit.

United would no longer just be about Salford, Manchester and a community of fans thrilled by a glorious history of adventure and defiance. It would be about Qatar, its foreign policy and the kind of issues that just shouldn’t be a concern for football. “Sportswashing” is too soft a description for what is actually happening here, especially when you consider the other issue.

The purchase of United by a state bid would mean the three primary countries driving the Gulf blockade all finally own major clubs in England, including the biggest of all. What would it say for what the Premier League is? The most watched league in the world would become the most morally compromised, by far greater degrees. The competition would be turned into a political arena. Manchester would be turned into a political arena. Nobody should be under any illusions about that.

Read Miguel’s full piece on the implications of a Qatari takeover of Man Utd:

There was a late twist in the Manchester United takeover saga last night! The Independent now understands that neither of the two leading bids for Manchester United, fronted by the Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani and Sir Jim Ratcliffe, submitted their improved offers for the club by Wednesday’s deadline.

Both parties had until 9pm to submit their offers but have instead asked for an extension to the deadline. It is understood both groups will submit their second, improved bids on Thursday, with the offers for the club expected to be more than £5bn in what is a crucial stage of the takeover process.

Ratcliffe’s INEOS group and the bid front by Sheikh Jassim were expected to submit their offers in advance of the deadline, but in a dramatic twist that surprised even those close to the process, it emerged the Raine group received neither offer. An extension to the process has been granted, however.

The Telegraph reports that the confusion around the 9pm deadline last night - that saw takeover frontrunners Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim both fail to lodge an official bid in time, thus requesting an extension - caused some “friction” between the parties.

Sir Jim and Sheikh Jassim’s groups are both adamant they will submit a bid by today’s extended deadline, however.

Bids for minority stakes in the club have already been tabled. Not much is known about those, with Elliott Management one of the groups understood to be interested in investing in United, rather than buying them.

Back in the early 1990s, a group of European football figures travelled to the United States for advice on how to grow the game, only to be given a warning by one of the American sports officials.

“If you think you’ve got problems now, wait until you start making money.”

It was counsel that has come to archly describe football in 2023.

The game’s giddy embrace of late-stage capitalism has made it an immense financial and cultural force, to the point the major American sports are now said to be “petrified” of its growing US influence ahead of the 2026 World Cup. The build-up to that, and the sport’s final and full global takeover, might nevertheless bring a breaking point in football history. That is because – as with so much in late-stage capitalism – the opulent top end is better off than ever before but the wider health of the rest has never been worse. The game has grown to a size where it is this gleaming cultural monolith but one filled with several structural faultlines.

Some of these have been revealed and widened by major stories of the last few weeks, only signalling how close we may be to something very significant.

Read Miguel Delaney’s full piece on the current state of football:

Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani is said to be “very confident” second bid to buy Manchester United can win over the Glazer family.

With the sale expected to hit around £5bn only the Qataris are able to do a deal without Wall Street lending or investment meaning they are on a very strong footing.

Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase and Co are understood to be helping bankroll Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s offer with a mix of bonds and loans beyond the value of United’s existing gross debt of £680m.

Ratcliffe’s track record of successful investments makes him a safer bet than many for loans but the outside market conditions may affect his bid.

Credit Suisse were rescued by arch-rival UBS over the weekend and the associated write off of $17bn of loans means investment banks in the US are wary further losses.

More recently Barclays has shelved two loans for Ratcliffe’s Ineos Enterprises, according to Bloomberg, but The Telegraph report sources close to Ratcliffe were dismissive that the market conditions could harm his bid.

The same report says that Sheikh Jassim, the chairman of Qatar Islamic Bank, is very confident that his debt-free bid is the best offer on the table and will be the most beneficial for the club.

2022: Todd Boehly for Chelsea, £4.25bn

The most expensive takeover in Premier League history to date happened last year in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Sanctions placed on Roman Abramovich, an oligarch with ties to Vladimir Putin’s government, forced the Russian to sell the London club he had owned since 2003. Chelsea drew interest from a number of consortiums and wealthy individuals, pushing the potential sale price up to in excess of £4 billion, with a consortium fronted by American investor Todd Boehly sealing the takeover in May 2022.

A part owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Sparks, Boehly’s ownership of the club has so far seen a major outlay in the transfer market, with the businessman’s erratic transfer strategy and heavy involvement in the football side of the club criticised by some. Reported clashes between Thomas Tuchel and Boehly brought an end to the German manager’s tenure at Stamford Bridge last September, with Graham Potter appointed as Tuchel’s replacement.

2005: Glazer family for Manchester United, £790m

The Glazer family first to took a minor stake in Manchester United in 2003, slowly buying out other shareholders over the next two years to complete a full takeover in 2005. Patriarch Malcolm Glazer, who also led the purchase of NFL franchise the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, died in 2014, leaving control of the club in the hands of his six children.

Sons Joel and Avram have been most heavily involved and suffered significant criticism, with Old Trafford in need of refurbishment and Manchester United’s on-field fortunes suffering a down-turn after the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson. The Glazers now appear on the brink of a sale.

2008 onwards: Stan Kroenke for Arsenal, £731m

American billionaire Stan Kroenke has been involved with Arsenal since 2008, spending a total of in excess of £700 million to take and maintain majority control of the club. The septuagenarian is also a team owner in the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLS.

In 2018, his buyout of former club shareholder Alisher Usmanov valued Arsenal’s shareholdings at £1.8 billion. After an extended period without mounting a serious title challenge, the London club are currently top of the Premier League under manager Mikel Arteta.

2021: PIF for Newcastle, £300m

A consortium led by the Saudi Public Investment Fund completed their takeover of Newcastle in October 2021. The deal was delayed after initial resistance from the Premier League amid significant criticism from human rights groups and reports of influence on the league from Qatar-based television partner beIN Sports, but was eventually concluded after a protracted 18-month process.

Increased investment has allowed Eddie Howe’s side to establish themselves as top-four challengers this season.