Bidders who are looking to acquire ownership in Manchester United have been granted a deadline extension for their final offers by the club.
The Raine Group, the merchant bank handling the sale on behalf of the Glazer family who currently owns a majority share in the club, set a deadline of 9 p.m. UK time on Wednesday for the second round of bids. This deadline was extended late on Wednesday to allow bidders time to “fine-tune” their offers.
British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, CEO and Chairman of chemical company INEOS, and Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim are the only two bidders who have made their intentions public. Sources connected to the consortium led by Sheikh Jassim insist that their offer was already prepared before the original deadline while Ratcliffe’s bid is also expected to meet the deadline.
Currently, there is no pre-determined set of steps in the takeover process beyond the second round of bids. According to sources familiar with the matter, once the bids are received, The Raine Group and the Glazers could choose to nominate one group as the “preferred bidder” or alternatively host a third round of bids.
