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Qataris pull out of United bid

The Qataris have withdrawn their bid for Manchester United and Sir Jim Ratcliffe now hopes to take a 25 per cent stake, leaving the Glazers in charge to the dismay of supporters: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/67107688

Ratcliffe and his petrochemicals firm, Ineos, will pay up to £1.3 billion for an initial 25 per cent stake, with the agreement expected to be ratified at a board meeting this week.

Ratcliffe’s initial offer valued the club at more than £5 billion, a world-record price for a sports franchise. His willingness to allow the Glazers to keep a stake in United has also been significant.

For United supporters, the Qataris appeared to represent the club’s best hope of matching the financial muscle of Manchester City and Newcastle United, who already have super-rich Middle Eastern owners.

But the Qataris did score an own goal with an early public statement that was interpreted as criticism of the Glazer family and, as The Times reported, they did not match Ratcliffe’s valuation. Only with a revised bid in April did Sheikh Jassim even reach the £5 billion mark, when the Glazers have been holding out for nearer £6 billion.

The revised deal removes the threat of potential litigation. Some holders of the publicly traded A shares were preparing to launch a legal challenge if Ratcliffe limited his deal to the B shares — which carry more voting rights — owned by the Glazers. As it is, the new deal is expected to involve Ratcliffe buying a mixture of A and B shares.


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