Man Utd to replace Glazers 'by Easter' as takeover deadline looms

Suraj Radia

• 16 Feb 2023 13:44 CST
• 2 min read

Manchester United could have new owners as soon as the end of next month, with a number of buyers preparing to launch official bid ahead of Friday’s deadline.

The Glazer family are seeking external investment, which could involve a total sale of the club, and interested parties have been given a ‘soft’ deadline of 10pm on Friday to submit their offers.

Investors from Qatar are thought to be the most keen on securing a deal and they will submit a bid on Friday that they believe to be the strongest offer, according to the Daily Mail.

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The Qataris are expected to face competition from a host of other groups including investors from Saudi Arabia, the US and also Britain’s richest man, Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

The Saudi group – independent from the country’s Public Investment Fund which bought Newcastle last year – have been given access to United’s ‘data room’ in order to conduct due diligence, having signed a confidentiality agreement.

The Glazers are hoping for an offer of around £6 billion to sell the club and there is optimism a deal could be reached sooner rather than later, with a number of bids already understood to have been submitted.

What will the process be for Man Utd’s takeover?

There will be no announcement even once the deadline passes as offers are still required to be considered past Friday due to United’s presence as a public company.

US bankers Raine Group are handling the process and they will separate offers into three groups: buyers who wish to take full control of the club, those who would like to purchase a stake and parties who are interested in investment and commercial partnerships.

There are believed to be five parties looking for a full takeover, with a complete sale believed to be the most likely outcome, however there are more than 20 offers in the latter two groups and it is possible a joint offer from those investors could be made.

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Raine will report back to the Glazer family once they have analysed all the offers and a decision will be made from there, with an announcement expected by the end of the season.