Man Utd takeover: Glazers reverse decision on Sheikh Jassim due to ‘lack of confidence’

The Glazer family is said to have changed their minds about keeping a share in Manchester United, making Sheikh Jassim the clear favorite over Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

Throughout the process, Joel and Avram Glazer have expressed a desire to continue at United in some manner.

As a result, Ratcliffe‘s approach, which would allow the Glazers to maintain shares in the club before selling them later, was considered the favored choice for a time.

However, according to the Financial Times, they are now prepared to sell their whole ownership in the club, indicating a preference for Sheikh Jassim.

The Qataris’ debt-free bid for the entire club, estimated to be over £5.5 billion, is now likely to be preferred by the American owners.

And, according to the French daily Nice-Matin, word of their desire has reached Ratcliffe, who is ‘losing faith’ in his chances of completing the transaction.

People have gotten preoccupied with determining which of the two will be designated as the “preferred bidder,” but as Ben Jacobs says, there is now “no real need to” place any possible investment in a “period of exclusivity.”

“Those in charge of the process are now working around the clock with both groups to try to get both offers in shape,” Jacobs added.

“This is also why the fixation on a preferred bidder is largely unhelpful, because if we were earlier in the process, you would have a preferred bidder, and that preferred bidder would enter into a period of exclusivity, and they would undertake due diligence and any potential final negotiation, and it would be significant because the Glazers would have shown their hands.”

“The longer the process has gone on, the less need there is in many ways to name a preferred bidder.” The Raine Group and the Glazers, on the other hand, may simply choose a winner. There is no practical reason to place either of the groups or any minority investor in a period of exclusivity until they choose a winner because every offer on the table is executional.”If the Glazers do not grant a period of exclusivity until they choose a winner, they may obviously have maximum competitive intensity.

“Then, if or when a winner is named, we wait to see if there is a short period of exclusivity to effectively go through the acquisition process, but that would still be different from a preferred bidder in a period of exclusivity.”