It started with a statement.
In November, while the eyes of the football world were watching the World Cup in Qatar, the Glazer Family made the surprise announcement that Manchester United could be up for sale. The board, led by Joel and Avram Glazer, revealed they would consider “all strategic alternatives, including new investment into the club, a sale, or other transactions involving the company.”
But it’s been 158 days since that Glazers’ statement and the takeover process, being handled by merchant bank The Raine Group, has not reached a conclusion. It’s prompted confusion about the Glazers’ intentions, while fans are growing more and more frustrated. It’s a battle for control of one of the biggest clubs and the result will have consequences for English and European football.
Why now and where are we in the takeover process?
The aim of the Glazers’ review, according to one source, is about how best to meet “the club’s long-term investment needs” — in particular, the long overdue redevelopment of Old Trafford. The “strategic alternatives” mentioned in the November statement can be broken down into two scenarios: a full sale, or the Glazers’ accepting a minority investment that would be used predominantly to rebuild Old Trafford.
Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al-Thani and British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, founder and chairman of chemical company INEOS, have made public offers to buy out the Glazers. Meanwhile, investment groups Elliott Management, Ares Management Corporation, Sixth Street and Carlyle are interested in acquiring a minority stake.
Sources have told ESPN that at least five other groups have also made their interest known to Raine but have not made their proposals public. There have been two rounds of bidding and sources have told ESPN there will now be a third round with a deadline of April 28. The biggest issue so far has been deciding what United is worth.
The Glazers, according to sources, value the club at £6bn, around double the market valuation of £3.1bn. The Glazers have been guided by last year’s sales of the Denver Broncos for £3.75bn and Chelsea for £2.5bn, but since putting United up for sale, have also seen American private equity billionaire Josh Harris agree to buy the Washington Commanders for £4.8bn.
The Glazers like to say that United is the “No.1 club in the world’s No.1 sport” with an estimated global fanbase of more than 1 billion, and that the most lucrative franchise on the planet should command a world record price. Offers from Sheikh Jassim and Ratcliffe in the first two rounds of bidding have failed to reach £6bn while details of proposals made by investment groups remain unknown. The cost for the redevelopment of Old Trafford is estimated to be between £1bn and £2bn, which includes plans drawn up for everything from building a new stadium to expanding and updating the existing one.
