The Premier League giants have been on the market since November of last year. At the time, the Glazer family stated that they would “evaluate all options,” including a full takeover.
Since then, three official rounds of bidding have taken place, with Sheikh Jassim and INEOS’ Sir Jim Ratcliffe the most likely candidates to succeed the Glazers if the existing owners opt to relinquish ownership of Man Utd.
According to 90min, Sheikh Jassim is “growing in confidence that he will win the race to buy the club.” The transaction has been delayed due to “internal disagreements among the six siblings in the Glazer family.”
While Avram and Joel Glazer ‘like’ Ratcliffe’s partial buyout, the other four Glazer siblings ‘prefer a full sale,’ which would be achievable if Qatar’s offer is accepted.
Journalist Ben Jacobs, who has been covering the takeover saga for months, claims that Ratcliffe’s current bid “will struggle to gain board approval.”
“The Nine Two Foundation [Sheikh Jassim’s group] is more optimistic as a result of their improved fifth offer, but there is still skepticism about the Glazers’ intentions.” Those close to the group believe the most likely possibilities are a Qatar victory or a no-deal scenario, and they are “still in the dark,” Jacobs tweeted.
“INEOS sources insist that they have not been informed that they have dropped out of the race.” However, sources say their plan will struggle to get board support in its current shape…
“Raine Group continues to engage with a number of potential suitors.” But there’s a growing awareness that Ratcliffe needs to change his organization if he wants board support. The bid from Nine Two Foundation is a better transaction.”
According to Vive Mukherjee, a chartered accountant and football finance expert, Sheikh Jassim’s current £5.5bn bid sees him ‘overpay by £2.5bn’ because their genuine value is ‘between £3.4bn-£3.9bn’.
“At Manchester United, there are 54,500 ordinary A shareholders and the Glazers own 110,000 class B shares,” Mukherjee told Football Insider. “Today’s share price is around $25, but the market value has risen to more than $26 after reports of Qatar winning the bid.”
“If the Glazers sold at the same rate as the stock market, the club’s value would be around £3 billion to £3.4 billion.” However, there is likely to be a premium for the Glazers’ shares – estimated at roughly 20%, the value would be between £3.4 billion and £3.9 billion.
“The latest bid of Sheikh Jassim is far in excess of the market value, even before accounting for the investment in debt servicing.” Even when utilizing the Markham model to value the club, Manchester United’s estimated valuation before the effects of Covid-19 was only £2.4 billion.”