D-Day for Manchester United: Glazers are expecting to receive world record bids of more than £5BILLION ahead of Wednesday’s 9pm deadline, with the Old Trafford club hoping for a sale before summer transfer window opens
Second bids for Manchester United have to be lodged by 9pm on Wednesday night — with the club set to be sold for a world-record fee should the Glazers accept one of the offers.
Those who want to buy the club outright, or make a partial investment, were on Tuesday night finalising their bids ahead of a significant day.
The Qatar-based Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani bid, revealed by Sportsmail, is still the favourite, although a rival offer from Sir Jim Ratcliffe is gathering momentum.
Ratcliffe, the British billionaire owner of INEOS, who claims to be a lifelong United fan, could link up with one of a number of other interested parties in a strengthened offer, according to those familiar with the situation.
Initial offers sent in last month were thought to have been worth around £4.5billion, with second bids likely to top £5bn. That would surpass the record for a sports franchise sale — the £3.71bn paid for the NFL’s Denver Broncos last year.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe (left) and the Qatari bid pf Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani (right) are leading the race to take over Manchester United, with improved bids to be lodged by 9pm Wednesday
The deadline for the second round of bids is on Wednesday, and the club is expecting six offers
Man United have been put up for sale by their American owners, the Glazer family, who will receive a world-record fee of more than £5billion if they accept one of the offers for the club
Six bids in total are expected, a mix of offers for full control and smaller stakes in United.
All options — a sale, investment and total rejection of all offers — remain on the table. Should the Glazers’ valuation of United not be met, they will not sell.
That valuation has not been made public and those in the bidding process have not been told what it is. However, it is believed a figure of around £6bn would be enough.
Sportsmail understands that those who submit offers will hear back in around a week’s time. At that stage, another round of bidding could be organised.