Indeed, or why Ratcliffe doesn’t just pay whatever they want now vs A LOT more in the future.
The whole thing is - as per usual with the Glazers - INCREDIBLY sus.
Here's what I believe to be the most likely scenario.
Qataris value the club at a certain price. Ratcliffe does the same. The Glazers however believe strongly that the clubs valuation will absolutely skyrocket with the WC in the US in 2026 and want even more money. None of them can agree on a figure. Glazers reportedly believe the club will be a 1bn revenue club worth 10 billion pounds - Qataris believe that is fantasy, and Ratcliffe isn't convinced either.
The Qataris put their foot down on the valuation, which is significantly lower than what the Glazers believe to be fair, and are not interested in any agreement about future aquisition. Ratcliffe however is interested as he sees that this is his best chance to buy the club. So they are at an impasse. Ratcliffe thinks the club will be worth x amounts of money in y space of time, Glazers think it will be worth more than that in the same space of time. They settle on a price-range between the two with a minimum fee and a maximum fee based on revenue and market value. Ratcliffe is betting that the club will be on the lower end of the scale, while the Glazers believe it will be on the higher end of the scale. They agree to sell 25% now, with an agreement that the remainder will be sold within a certain time-frame - shaving that 25% off the price Ratcliffe will have to pay in the future.
For the Glazers it ensures that they get the absolute maximum amount of money for their shares at that future point in time. While for Ratcliffe it provides an agreement for him to be able to buy the club fully at a set point in the future - probably for less than the Glazers think it will be worth. I think it was simply a case of it being the best deal possible under the circumstances and Glazer's valuation.