THE contenders to take over Manchester United are expected to put in their revised bids by tomorrow.
Both Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani and Britain’s richest man, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, are in the running to buy the Old Trafford club from the Glazer family.
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Other potential bidders have remained under the radar, although US hedge fund Elliott Management also visited the club after making its initial proposal.
Elliott, however, are seeking to provide finances for a bidder, rather than take control of United themselves.
Now, though, the next stage of the contest will begin in earnest with the would-be new owners asked to make their “non-indicative” second bids.
These are more formal offers, expected to be higher than the initial valuations which were understood not to exceed £4.5bn.
With the Glazer family believing the club is worth £6bn, there is a considerable gap which is unlikely to be completely filled in the next stage.
But it does mean that the Glazers’ chosen intermediary, the US-based Raine Group, could be in a position to formally declare a “preferred bidder” by either Friday or the beginning of next week.
That would open the way for full due diligence of the club, its finances and assets, to begin, a process that might take two weeks or more to be completed.
Even so, there remains a high degree of uncertainty, especially if none of the bidders comes within hailing distance of the Glazer sale price.
While Sheikh Jassim, a member of the Qatari royal family, is seeking a full takeover, Sir Jim’s Ineos group is aiming to buy out the Glazers’ 69 per cent controlling stake.
And it does mean there might be a third effective auction bidding stage with Raine conducting proceedings to attempt to ensure a final price closer to the Glazers’ preferred valuation.
Sheikh Jassim, however, is reportedly set to make a second bid for the Red Devils in the coming days.
That’s according to Sky Sports, who claim the Qatari will table his second gambit on Wednesday.
It’s claimed the Sheikh’s team worked on the new offer over the weekend – just days after fresh talks with the Glazers at Old Trafford and Carrington.
Manchester United will be back in action a fortnight on Sunday travelling to St James’ Park to take on Newcastle.
