The British billionaire personally visited Old Trafford last week (Picture: Reuters)
INEOS founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe has officially made a ‘revised’ offer to buy Manchester United after being granted an extension following Wednesday’s deadline.
The British billionaire is one of just two bidders to have gone public with their interest in buying the club, with Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani having also returned with a fresh offer to Raine Group – who are marketing the sale.
While Sheikh Jassim sent a delegation of advisors to Manchester last week to hold talks with United’s hierarchy, Ratcliffe is keen to show a more personal touch and visited both Old Trafford and Carrington for face-to-face discussions himself.
Interested parties who made it to the second phase were given access to the club’s books before submitting a fresh, more concrete offer to Raine before 9pm on Wednesday – though the deadline was belatedly extended for both the INEOS and Qatari bids.
As many as eight proposals were expected to be made, although not all of those are to buy the club outright, with around half proposing minority stakes or potential financing to other bids – such as the offer from US hedge fund Elliott Management.
The first round of the process saw bidders submit short statements of intent and proof of finances, with no offer exceeding the £4.5billion mark – well short of the Glazer family’s £6bn asking price.
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But both Sheikh Jassim and Ratcliffe are prepared to stump up improved, record sums in order to buy the club and INEOS confirmed their latest bid has now been submitted following the deadline extension in a brief statement on Thursday evening.
An INEOS spokesperson said: ‘Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS can confirm we have submitted a revised bid.’
The bid from Ratcliffe and INEOS is believed to eclipse the $4.65bn (£3.8bn) sale of NFL team the Denver Broncos when they were bought by the Walton-Penner group last year – the biggest sporting takeover in history.
There is no guarantee that the Glazers will sell the club, however, and they will consult with Raine over the next week to evaluate the bids and decide their next move.
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The British billionaire personally visited Old Trafford and Carrington last week.