The battle for control at Manchester United has taken another twist with Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos thought to have valued the club higher than their main Qatari rivals.
The third and final bids for United were submitted before Friday’s 10pm deadline as a six-month saga edges closer to a conclusion.
Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani, the chairman of the Qatar Islamic Bank and son of the former Qatar Prime Minister, has been the favorite to land the club.
But it emerged on Saturday that Ineos were the only bidder to have valued the club above £5 billion and that their proposal equates to more than the offer presented by Qatar.
Sheikh Jassim is the only bidder offering to buy 100 percent of the club and a debt free takeover.
Ineos wants to purchase the Glazers’ 69 percent shareholding but are also understood to have made a proposal that would see them take a controlling stake but allow Joel and Avram Glazer, the co-chairmen, to remain as minority shareholders.
It is thought that a preferred bidder could be granted a period of exclusivity over the next week to 10 days.
Sources close to the Sheikh Jassim camp are adamant that their offer of additional capital investment to fund the redevelopment of Old Trafford and the club’s training ground is on top of their bid to the Glazers and are bemused by any suggestions to the contrary.
The Glazers had been holding out for around £6 billion but none of the bidders have reached that level and the Qataris believe their offer is the best for the club, fans and community.
So far at least, Sheikh Jassim has shown no desire to be pressured into making a significantly higher bid.
The process, which began in November when the Glazers announced a “strategic review” of the club, has not been without its tensions.
Confusion surrounded the deadline for the second round of bids almost six weeks ago. The initial hopes were that the process would be resolved in the first quarter of the year or by the end of April, but that now looks like dragging until the end of the season or later, which could cloud manager Erik ten Hag’s summer transfer plans.
Three American investment firms – Elliott Management, the Carlyle Group and Ares Management – are offering to buy a minority stake, the proceeds from which could be earmarked to help redevelop Old Trafford unless Joel and Avram Glazer used them to buy out their four siblings. They would then need financing to refurbish the stadium and training ground.