Club Sale | It’s done!

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Wibble

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Eventually something is going to happen and some posters will think they got it right. When in fact nobody really has a clue. If you say all of the possibilities one will have to be right eventually.
 

sglowrider

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The fact that he wasn’t aware of these complications with his experience in M&A certainly doesn’t reflect well on him or his people. To come this far into the process and realise their bid isn’t viable.
Maybe most of his M&A activities are with private entities and not publically listed ones like United?
 

MegadrivePerson

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If it's true that Sir Jim's bid is dead then he should just declare this publicly and pull out.

Qatar should then tell the Glazers that they 48 hours to accept their final bid or else they will also pull out.
 

Pexbo

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The fact that he wasn’t aware of these complications with his experience in M&A certainly doesn’t reflect well on him or his people. To come this far into the process and realise their bid isn’t viable.
Was it someone in this thread that pointed out the press release the Glazers made about strategic opportunities including possible sale last year?

If so that’s the Glazers that have shot themselves in the foot. There is nothing stopping them privately selling their shares but they put out an announcement to the NYSE on behalf of the club/corporation and we saw what effect that has had on the share price.

It’s no surprise that’s now been used against them, they have an offer on the table which is in the best interest of those shareholders and they were considering instead taking an offer that would leave those shareholders in the cold and likely lose money and instead only looking to act in their own interests.

The third biggest shareholder writing a letter to them and other shareholders threatening group action would have made the INEOS bid much less attractive. Why stick around for 3 years while United fans continue to protest and very wealthy investors form an army of lawyers bringing expensive legal action.

Take the money and feck off.
 

Telsim

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Starting to seem like they aren't interested in selling the club any longer and are looking to wriggle their way out of the situation without any repercussions. Probably hoping both bidders pull out.
 

Pexbo

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Starting to seem like they aren't interested in selling the club any longer and are looking to wriggle their way out of the situation without any repercussions. Probably hoping both bidders pull out.

Based on? They cannot afford to keep running the club as they have. Debt is very expensive now and they would need a load more of it.
 

horsechoker

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Starting to seem like they aren't interested in selling the club any longer and are looking to wriggle their way out of the situation without any repercussions. Probably hoping both bidders pull out.
Qatar should make life hell for the Glazers but I don't think they'll back out now
 

cyberman

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Maybe this is a stupid question but is there now a chance they aren’t allowed to choose minority investment over a sale? it’s a bit I’ve watched too much Succession but are they allowed to tuned down the best deal after the process has started?
 

cyberman

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Starting to seem like they aren't interested in selling the club any longer and are looking to wriggle their way out of the situation without any repercussions. Probably hoping both bidders pull out.
Na, seems like fans who wanted Jim in are now trying to (for some reason) will this into reality
 

sglowrider

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Surely Jim must've known his bid was never possible?
You would have thought. But it was only two weeks ago, his mouthpiece, The Times was reporting that he was feeling confident.... 7 months into the process.
Or maybe he thought that he would deal with them once he has control?
 

Pexbo

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Maybe this is a stupid question but is there now a chance they aren’t allowed to choose minority investment over a sale? it’s a bit I’ve watched too much Succession but are they allowed to tuned down the best deal after the process has started?
I’m obviously not a financial expert by any stretch and don’t want to pretend I am so all my posts here are obviously my own opinion or an attempt at applying some logic based on the information we have - just want to caveat that because I also hate it when people talk with authority on subjects they’re not experts in.

My take on the above is that it’s probably a lot easier to argue in court that minority investment is a long term strategic move that the Glazers could argue they believe is in the interests of long term shareholders whereas agreeing to a sale which sees the Glazers sell only their own shares at a premium to exit the company knowing everyone else’s shares will fall off a cliff is just plain malicious and self serving.
 

Woodzy

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This becomes more ridiculous every day.

Let’s hope Qatar have a little more left in the tank to see it over the line before the nonsense becomes too much for them.
 

putzmcgee123

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It seems even the biggest Ratcliffe cheerleaders (Lawton, Dickinson et al at The Times) have gone silent.
 

hobbers

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Just backs up what everyone has said about Ratcliffe's sport operation if this is the reason why it's dead.

They just wing it. Clueless.
 

strandty

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The idea the Qataris have had anything other than the best M&A talent money can buy from the very start was laughable
I mean you've just got to look at who attended the meeting at Old Trafford on SJ's behalf.

Shahzad Shahbaz - 25 years at Bank of America and a Qatari Investment Advisor

Yasir Shah - Managing Director of Bank of America

Fady Bakhos - Legal, corporate & investment advisor to Sheikh Jassim

Sam Powers - Global Head of Technology, Media & Telecoms at Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Multiple lawyers.

They knew exactly what they were doing.
 

GoldanoGraham

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I’m quite sure that SJR’s bid wasn’t as blind as some think on here - he will be represented by a well respected M&A team and they will be dealing with Raine who are also the same.

Some basic issue is not going to be discovered way down the road. You may find that the bid needs adjusting but I doubt very much he is out - maybe told to go away and reevaluate his offer.

I would not be surprised if there are other bidders involved as well - suits the narrative that everyone thinks it’s just between two.

Could yet be more left field tangents to appear over the coming days…..nothing should surprise us with this lot.
 

Infra-red

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Bad news if true. Glazers/Raine need to give Qatar some competition to get the price as high as possible.

Therefore the minority bollocks is going to come roaring back for the next few months. I'd take Ineos any day over that shit
Indeed. Minority investment that keeps the Glazers at the club and, crucially, in control, is surely not what anyone wants at this stage. If the threats of legal action from the Class A institutional holders is real, then it spells the end of Avram and Joel at United unless they can make a deal with Carlyle or similar that the other siblings find palatable. It is a bit concerning that the minority investment option now seems to be gaining traction, but I also think it is a bit fanciful, given what is already on the table from Qatar.
 

Rood

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One of the first things parties would consider in a genuinely-contested M&A when assessing a suite of potential options is the effect on shareholders. The idea this has suddenly sprung up is daft.
TBF the whole structure of the business end of the club is incredibly messy with a New York minority listing, A & B shares, Cayman Islands jurisdiction etc

So it's feasible that Jim's advisors are coming up with new takeover structures which sound good in theory, but won't actually stand up to legal challenge from the small but powerful (a whole list of hedge funds) minority shareholders
 
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ShinjiNinja26

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I mean you've just got to look at who attended the meeting at Old Trafford on SJ's behalf.

Shahzad Shahbaz - 25 years at Bank of America and a Qatari Investment Advisor

Yasir Shah - Managing Director of Bank of America

Fady Bakhos - Legal, corporate & investment advisor to Sheikh Jassim

Sam Powers - Global Head of Technology, Media & Telecoms at Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Multiple lawyers.

They knew exactly what they were doing.
Exactly. Yet there were folk on here in the pro Brexit Jimmy camp who were trying to suggest the Qatari’s were handling this like amateurs. :lol:
 

cyberman

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Indeed. Minority investment that keeps the Glazers at the club and, crucially, in control, is surely not what anyone wants at this stage. If the threats of legal action from the Class A institutional holders is real, then it spells the end of Avram and Joel at United unless they can make a deal with Carlyle or similar that the other siblings find palatable. It is a bit concerning that the minority investment option now seems to be gaining traction, but I also think it is a bit fanciful, given what is already on the table from Qatar.
It wasn’t really highlighted by Bloomberg though. It was just a line saying they could choose minority investment at the last minute.
Technically they could. Technically all options are on the table
 

Zora

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The fact that he wasn’t aware of these complications with his experience in M&A certainly doesn’t reflect well on him or his people. To come this far into the process and realise their bid isn’t viable.
Fair points.
 

Woziak

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It wasn’t really highlighted by Bloomberg though. It was just a line saying they could choose minority investment at the last minute.
Technically they could. Technically all options are on the table
Apart from SJR put and call offer ?
 
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