Manchester United takeover hopeful Sir Jim Ratcliffe is reportedly preparing a new, restructured proposal to buy the club. The British billionaire is believed to be working with advisors in an attempt to address concerns over the complexities of his previous offer, which involved keeping the Glazers at Old Trafford as minority investors.
Sir Jim and Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani are the two front-runners in the takeover hunt, which is still going on almost a year after the Glazers acknowledged that they were exploring strategic alternatives behind the scenes.
Both bidders are believed to have submitted proposals – which differ in terms of structure – valuing United at over £5billion. But progress in negotiations has been virtually non-existent in recent weeks, with the Glazers keen to bank £6bn.
According to Bloomberg, Sir Jim is about to blink first by preparing a new offer in the hope of spurring discussions back into life.
The petrochemicals magnate’s original bid was to acquire 69 per cent of the shares in United, but only out of those owned by the Glazer family, paying little consideration to minority shareholders whose stock would not be purchased.
Sir Jim is now working with advisers to address those concerns after one shareholder sent a letter to the United board warning that legal implications could arise from directors recommending a bid that favours one set of shareholders, i.e. the Glazers, over those whose stock would remain untouched.
United boss Erik ten Hag was still given a healthy transfer kitty during the summer with which he signed Andre Onana, Rasmus Hojlund and Mason Mount, among others.
The Red Devils have made an up-and-down start to the campaign, losing three of their first five matches in the Premier League before returning to winning ways against Burnley on Saturday night.
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