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Sources: Big Man United takeover update as preferred bidder revealed
The Qatari bid to buy Man United is favoured by most leading minority investors in the club, Football Insider has learned.
Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al Thani’s group has reportedly submitted a fourth offer to buy 100 per cent of the club, including the 31 per cent not owned by the Glazer family.
The remaining equity is owned by hundreds of investors through the New York Stock Exchange, whose voting power is virtually non-existent compared to the Glazers thanks to the club’s constitution.
The new Qatari bid is believed to be for around £5.5billion, while takeover rival Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s valuation is higher but his proposal is to take a smaller stake.
That would likely leave the Glazers with a minority stake and almost certainly leave the shares currently in public ownership untouched.
The Qatari proposal would instead offer a premium price to prise away publicly-traded shares from the likes of Lindsell Train and Ariel Investments, whose stakes are worth hundreds of millions.
Two well-placed sources – one with a direct investment interest and one from within the football finance industry – insist that the Qatari proposal is favoured among influential minority shareholders.
The premium that Sheikh Jassim’s group would offer to buy out minority shareholders would, it is claimed, represent an opportunity too good for many to turn down.
United’s shares are currently trading at $19.2 but their value is constantly in flux and responded badly to reports earlier this week that Ratcliffe’s bid was the Glazers’ preferred option.
The views of minority shareholders will have no material influence on the Glazers’ decision on the future ownership of the club, but it could be an important weapon in the Qataris’ arsenal as they ramp up their PR campaign.
Sheikh Jassim’s team have also made indirect appeals to United supporter groups and other stakeholders in the hope of influencing the Glazers.
In other news, Man United enter race to sign Liverpool target from Bayern Munich.