The chairman of the Islamic Bank of Qatar, Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani, has made a second offer to buy the Manchester United club.
A source close to the bid said Sheik Jassim remains confident of completing a move at Old Trafford, despite rival interest from Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Finnish businessman Thomas Zilliacus.
The deadline for bids was set at 9pm on Wednesday before it was postponed. The first round of bidding took place last month and it is reported that there are up to eight potential investors. No figures have been disclosed, but one or more of the initial bids were reported to be around €5 billion.
The Glazer family, who bought the club for €850m in 2005, announced last year that they were looking at “strategic alternatives”, which could include a sale.
Sheikh Jassim has said that his interest is a private initiative through his Nine Two foundation and is not connected to the state of Qatar. His representatives visited Old Trafford last week for talks.
Ratcliffe, who made an unsuccessful bid to buy Chelsea in 2022 and owns French club Nice, also visited Old Trafford last week. The 70-year-old was born in the Manchester area and has been a fan of the club since childhood. He is one of the richest men in Britain with an estimated personal fortune of €6.8 billion.
Finnish businessman Zilliacus confirmed earlier this week that he has also submitted an offer. He is the founder and chairman of investment company Mobile FutureWorks and wants to buy United in a 50-50 partnership with their fans, who are supposed to have a say in the decision-making process at the club, writes the Guardian,
So far little or nothing is known about other potential bidders, although it has been reported that US hedge fund Elliott Management has made a proposal that would include providing finance to either the new bidders or the Glazers.
