QATARI businessman Sheikh Jassim has withdrawn from a proposed bid to buy Premier League outfit Manchester United, with British entrepreneur Sir Jim Ratcliffe poised to acquire a 25% stake at the Old Trafford side.
Sheikh Jassim and Sir Jim Ratcliffe have competed to buy the Old Trafford giants from the Glazer family, who have been unpopular with the Red Devils’ faithful since taking control in 2005.
The Qatari sheikh became the first bidder to publicly confirm he had made an offer for Manchester United, followed by Sir Jim.
The takeover process has rumbled on for months, with Sheikh Jassim withdrawing from the process this week. He told the Glazers of his decision in the past couple of days.
Sheikh Jassim’s team announced in February that he had submitted a bid to buy 100 per cent of the club, promising a completely debt-free takeover via his Nine Two Foundation.
The bid was understood to have eventually reached around double the current 3.2 billion dollars (£2.6bn) market valuation of the Premier League club.
An additional 1.7bn dollars (£1.4bn) is believed to have been pledged for infrastructure projects.
Earlier this month, it was reported that Ineos chief Sir Jim was considering changing his offer and buying a minority stake in United.
It was reported he may seek a stake in the region of 25% as part of a proposal to try to bring the drawn-out sale process to an end, having initially wanted to complete a majority takeover.
If the Glazers accepted this newly reported offer, it would see the American family still retain majority control of the club.
Manchester United have had a difficult start to the Premier League season, sitting tenth on the table.
Source: apexfootballgoat.com
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