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Where is the money coming from for United takeover?

The five groups bidding to buy Manchester United have been asked to clarify exactly who is the source of their funding when they submit offers for the club by Friday’s 10pm deadline.

Two of those groups — the one headed by the Manchester-born billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe and a Qatari group fronted by Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani — are bidding for a controlling stake in United from the Glazer family. The offers are expected to value United at more than £5 billion.

Ratcliffe’s offer, which could lead to two members of the Glazer family — Joel and Avram — retaining a 20 per cent share, would be funded by his Ineos petrochemicals company. However, it is less clear where the backing is coming from for the sheikh, a 41-year-old Sandhurst-educated United fan who was not a prominent public figure in Qatar until the bid for the club became known.

His father, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani, has a far higher public profile, though, as he was the Qatari prime minister from 2007 to 2013. Sheikh Hamad, who is better known in Qatar as HBJ, is described as a “master investor” and considered wealthy enough to write a personal cheque to the Glazers.

Both groups, and the three other bidders seeking minority stakes that would ensure that the Glazers retain control, have been asked to provide clarity over who is funding their bids. They have also been asked if any debt will be secured against the club and for further details of their financial plans.

The Qataris boast the deepest pockets and a 100 per cent takeover is a far simpler transaction, even if a further complication has emerged in the form of the series of questions sent to all bidders this week by Raine.

For Ineos, this should be relatively straightforward. Essentially it is Ratcliffe’s cash. But for Sheikh Jassim, who has formed the Nine Two Foundation to front the Qatari group, it will be interesting to see who is ultimately bankrolling the bid when it is his father who is regarded as one of the richest individuals in the Gulf state.

Not that this should necessarily present a problem. There are no restrictions on state ownership of football clubs and the UK government has no plans to introduce any, even with the creation of an independent regulator. But the ultimate owner will be subjected to the Premier League’s owners’ and directors’ test.

 

 

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