Sheikh Jassim gives Man Utd owners The Glazers 48 hours to accept final takeover bid
QATARI Sheikh Jassim has given the Glazers a Manchester United ultimatum: Sell to me by Friday…or I’m out.
Sheikh Jassim, a member of the Gulf state’s ruling Royal Family, made a FIFTH bid for the club earlier this week.
But the billionaire banker, up against Britain’s richest man Sir Jim Ratcliffe for control of the Old Trafford club, has finally run out of patience with the Glazers and their deal-makers, the US-based Raine Group.
And while the fifth bid will remain on the table, Sheikh Jassim and his entourage will no longer engage wit the sale process after their self-imposed deadline.
That could speed up a sale to Ratcliffe and his Ineos petrochemicals giant – or force the Glazers into a deal with the Qatari.
Sheikh Jassim wants 100 per cent of the club in a cash up front deal which he argues would clear all the club’s debts completely.
He also promises additional funding for transfers, infrastructure and other investment requirements, which he feels the ineos bid cannot match.
With United’s current valuation on the New York Stock Market under £2.5bn, the Qatari offer represents a huge premium on the share price.
But four months on from his opening bid, and with the transfer window opening next Wednesday, the Qatari has decided to bring matters to a head by making clear he has had enough of the drawn-out delays.
The Sheikh was an early front-runner but none of his four previous offers have matched the Glazers’ £6bn valuation.
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His latest bid, last month, is understood to have been in the region of £5,5bn.
Sun Sport revealed how the Glazers were edging towards accepting the bid by Ratcliffe and Ineos.
That was around £3bn for a controlling share of just over 50 per cent of the company.
Crucially, though, that offer would also allow current United co-chairmen Joel and Avram Glazer to remain at the club, although giving their four siblings an exit strategy.
An Ineos victory would also spell the end for current chief executive Richard Arnold and other directors.
Ratcliffe is understood to believe that having a majority stake would effectively give him the full control he wants, although some city analysts question that view.
There have even been reports of a subsequent potential offer from Ineos that would see all SIX Glazers staying at the club, although sources close to the company would not confirm the validity of those claims.