Sky Sports News' chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol answers the key questions behind the sale of Man Utd following a dramatic night in the bidding process; Qatar's Sheikh Jassim and Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS were granted extensions to submit their bids for the club
Thursday 23 March 2023 21:06, UK
The proposed sale of Manchester United gathered pace when British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe said he had submitted a second bid for the club.
American merchant bank Raine had given bidders more time to fine-tune proposals by extending Wednesday night's deadline for the latest round of offers.
"Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS can confirm we have submitted a revised bid," INEOS said on Thursday.
Ratcliffe is one of the richest people in Britain and has been a United fan since childhood.
Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani is also set to submit a fresh offer and appears to be the main rival to Ratcliffe in the battle to take charge of the 20-time English league champions.
Current owners the Glazer family announced in November that they were exploring "strategic alternatives," which included the possibility of a full sale of the club they have owned since 2005.
The deadline was set for 9pm, we knew that the Qataris and Sir Jim Ratcliffe's INEOS were going to make a bid.
At 9pm, it was confirmed Sheikh Jassim from Qatar had made a bid for Manchester United. About 30 minutes later, we were being told the bid hadn't been received. There was also no bid from Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
The information we have is that on Tuesday the Qataris contacted Raine Group, the New York-based bank who are handling the sale process, and asked for more time. Raine agreed to accommodate their request.
On Wednesday Sir Jim Ratcliffe's bid team also asked for an extension and they were told they could have more time.
That is where we stand with the two leading contenders. The deadline was 9pm on Wednesday. It has been extended for them because they asked for more time.
I'm told there is no new deadline. The deadline was also a soft deadline. There can't be a hard deadline for a sale in any case because United are listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Having said that, both their bids are expected to go in before the end of this week. The Qatari bid is ready to go and Sir Jim Ratcliffe will make an improved bid as well.
It depends how you look at it. Some will say it could be gamesmanship or brinksmanship. Do the Qataris not want to show their hand yet? Are they trying to get an advantage over Sir Jim Ratcliffe?
Did Ratcliffe ask for an extension because the Qataris had asked for one? Are both of them trying to send a message to the Glazer family that they believe they're the only bidders for the whole club so they can afford to take their time?
There is another, more innocent way of looking at it - the two of them genuinely need more time and it's not unusual to ask for an extension in a sale process like this one.
We are being told, 100 per cent, that Sheikh Jassim will make a new offer. We believe It is going to be around £5bn and the offer is ready to go.
He has said his interest is a private initiative through his Nine Two Foundation and is not connected to the Qatari state.
His representatives also visited Old Trafford last week for talks, which were understood to be positive and constructive.
Then it will be up to Raine and the Glazers to evaluate all the proposals they have received and decide on the next steps.
We should find out next week if there is going to be one preferred bidder, or if there will be another round of bids.
The US hedge fund Elliott Management made a bid to buy a minority stake in United before Wednesday's 9pm deadline. That development was first reported by Matt Lawton in The Times on Thursday morning.
We have known for a while that they are interested in the club, but they don't want to buy United. They want a minority stake but they are still also willing to providing financing to other parties instead. They could lend money to other bidders to finance their bids or to the Glazers.
Representatives of Elliott Management were at Old Trafford for the game against Real Betis in the Europa League two weeks ago. They have been involved in football before.
Six years ago, they helped finance the takeover of AC Milan in a €740m deal and they lent around €300m to Chinese businessman Li Yonghong. A year later, he failed to make the repayments on that high-interest loan, so Elliott took control of AC Milan. They sold it to US investment firm Redbird last summer for £1.2bn.
We're being told "many" other bids went into Raine before last night's deadline. Raine were expecting between five and eight proposals and they received a figure approaching the top of that range.
The majority of those proposals will be from bidders who want a minority stake in the club, or are offering to finance other parties.
Finnish Businessmen Thomas Zilliacus has revealed what he would like to do with Manchester United if his bid to become an investor is accepted.
"We have the finances," he told Sky Sports. "The Glazers know the world is not flush with money, but there is enough in the hands of people who are looking for interesting opportunities and returns.
"I feel this could be one of those. To finance the bid, frankly I don't see that as a big obstacle. We have finance available for whatever is required but we won't go to crazy levels.
"I've read there are as many as five other bidders for the club. We would be happy to talk to the other bidders to join forces with one or more of those if they feel the same as we do about involving the fans."
Zilliacus, founder and chairman of investment company Mobile FutureWorks, heads the third group to have publicly declared interest in a club takeover after Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani.
The Finn wants to buy United in a 50-50 partnership with their fans, who will have a say in the decision-making process at the Premier League club.
Only the Glazers know what the real asking price is. Even some of their senior advisers are not sure exactly how much they are looking for.
In normal business terms, United are not worth £6bn. Their market cap is about £3.5bn. Some people believe the club is worth even less than that. In the past three years it has lost £230m and whoever buys the club will have to invest at least another £1bn on infrastructure.
But United are a trophy asset and if the club is sold, it will definitely be a world record for a sports club. The world record is currently the £3.75bn that the Denver Broncos were sold for last summer.
From the start of this process we have been receiving conflicting reports about the Glazer family's real intentions.
United fans want the Glazers to leave, but the family are being presented with proposals that are giving them the option to stay. They still believe United will be worth even more in the future, so why sell now?
Having said that, we are also being told that the Glazers will definitely leave if the price is right. They know big money needs to be spent on Old Trafford and the share price would fall dramatically if they don't sell.
They only ever invested about £200m of their own money when they bought the club in a leveraged buyout in 2005. Sell now and you walk away with billions of pounds of profit.
It's important to bear in mind that six members of the family own the club and they don't think as one.
One insider told us we could end up with a situation where United have fewer Glazers and more debt.
