Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s bid for a majority stake in Manchester United includes a demand for immediate control of transfers, it has been claimed.
Ratcliffe’s Ineos Group have taken a significant step towards taking control of United after it emerged its bid put a higher value on the Old Trafford club than Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim.
While Sheikh Jassim has reportedly offered £5billion to buy 100 per cent of the club, Ratcliffe was only initially thought to want the Glazer’s 69 per cent controlling stake.
However last week it also emerged that the British billionaire was allegedly prepared to reduce that figure while maintaining a majority stake to allow co-chairman Joel and Avram Glazer to retain some link.
While the Glazer family weigh up the offers on the table about 1,000 United supporters, led by the fan group The 1958, protested against the Americans’ ownership before the club’s 1-0 victory over Aston Villa on Sunday.
Ratcliffe’s demand
While a request for control of transfers is unlikely to be accepted before the Glazers have completed a sale, both Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim are understood to want influence as soon as the offer is accepted.
While Ratcliffe is focused on immediate transfer dealings, Sheikh Jassim is said to want an even wider oversight of club affairs. Under the Qatari’s request, the Glazer family would be running any potential financial commitment past the banking executive as soon as a deal is agreed.
One Telegraph source was dismissive of whether said requests had merit, given full control of club dealing could be a “legal and theoretical impossibility prior to a deal being closed.”
However, demands of that ilk are not uncommon in major acquisitions when there is expected to be a significant period between a preliminary agreement and the formal closing of terms.
Indeed, corporate specialists told the Telegraph that buyers can ask for some approval rights to ensure a company’s accounts are not drained before completion.
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