The Qatari fund is set to bid for Manchester United but will not pay the £6bn asking price of the Glazers. The investors were called to inquire about their interest in purchasing United, and they have since expressed it to the Raine Group, the investment bank handling the club’s sale campaign. By the end of the following week, Raine has requested that offers be filed, and at least four genuine bids are anticipated. Along with Qatari investors, bids are likely to come from Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the United States, and Saudi Arabia. Ratcliffe is employed at Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan. When the Glazers acquired United in a £790 million leveraged buyout in 2005, JP Morgan collaborated with them. When the deal was being worked on, Ed Woodward was employed by JP Morgan.
Despite their interest, the Qatari fund won’t overpay for Manchester United. The club is valued at £3.2 billion on the New York Stock Exchange, and it is thought that the Glazers are seeking a buyout price of £6 billion. On Thursday, United shares increased by roughly 9% and closed at a nearly record high of $25.39, valuing the firm at $4.18 billion. Since Glazers effectively put the club up for sale in November, the share price has increased by a factor of two. The fact that Qatar intends to invest in additional sports to capitalize on the World Cup’s perceived success has never been a secret.
Qatar Sports Investments, the owner of Paris Saint-Germain, is not one of the investors in the United process. If Ratcliffe decides to make a bid for Manchester United, JP Morgan, and Goldman Sachs are also ready to offer funding to pay off the club’s existing £660 million in debt. Over the last three years, United has lost £230 million. 18 months ago, JP Morgan was one of the project’s biggest backers. In addition to Morgan Stenkey, Goldman Sachs is also assisting Liverpool as the club’s owners consider selling all or a portion of their stock. Amnesty International has warned that a potential Qatari bid for Manchester United should serve as a “wake-up call” for the Premier League to tighten its ownership regulations.
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