Qatari investors are readying a roughly £5 billion ($6 billion) opening bid for Manchester United Plc, people with knowledge of the matter said, ahead of what’s expected to be a fierce bidding war for the English football giant.
(Bloomberg) — Qatari investors are readying a roughly £5 billion ($6 billion) opening bid for Manchester United Plc, people with knowledge of the matter said, ahead of what’s expected to be a fierce bidding war for the English football giant.
A consortium including Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, the country’s former prime minister and ex-head of the Qatar Investment Authority, is putting the final touches on a proposal to acquire the English Premier League club from the US Glazer family.
Shares in Manchester United rose as much as 5.9% in premarket trading on Friday. The stock closed 9.7% higher in New York on Thursday, giving the club a market value of $4.4 billion.
A deal for Manchester United could represent the biggest takeover of a professional sports club on record, potentially surpassing the $4.65 billion paid last year by a group led by Walmart Inc. heir Rob Walton for the Denver Broncos NFL team.
Any offer from Qatar is likely to face competition from British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, a Manchester United fan who’s already lined up financing from banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. for a bid of his own.
Bloomberg News reported this week that the QIA has been helping with preparations for a bid alongside local family offices in Qatar. Deliberations are ongoing and no final decisions on the size or timing of any proposal have been taken, according to the people. A representative for Sheikh Hamad didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Manchester United is one of the biggest names in world sports and has been the subject of increasing takeover speculation since Bloomberg News reported in the summer that the Glazer family was open to selling a stake. New York bank Raine Group is advising the Glazers.
The club from the northwest of England has won a record 13 Premier League titles and has consistently been able to attract the game’s biggest stars, including the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
While its dominance of English football shifted in recent years to crosstown rivals Manchester City FC, which has won multiple honors since being taken over by Abu Dhabi investors in 2008, Manchester United has been enjoying a revival in playing fortunes of late under new coach Erik ten Hag.
A Qatari bid could be complicated by the fact Qatar Sports Investments, a state-backed entity that’s separate to QIA, already owns French super-club Paris Saint-Germain FC. Regulations from European football’s governing body, UEFA, state that teams with the same majority owner can’t both compete in the region’s major tournaments, including the showpiece Champions League.
–With assistance from Giles Turner.
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