Could the Glazers realistically stay?

mctrials23

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They would have to be a special kind of stupid not to sell at this point. The fans would kick off, they need massive investment into the club and they already have massive debts and the squad needs investment.

They will cut and run like they should and take the billions in profit they don't deserve.
 

foolsgold

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If they think its worth 6 and they are being offered 4 for example then why would they sell?
Manchester United is no different to anything else, it's worth exactly what someone is willing to pay. If they're being offered 4, then it's worth 4.

The Glazers know this as much as anyone else.
 

SmallCaine

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If they think its worth 6 and they are being offered 4 for example then why would they sell?
This only works if the options are to sell or not to sell. Here they have to sell, the options are whether to sell a % or all of it and remember most of the % they sell doesn't go to them, they have to invest that into the club while they get every penny if they sell the whole thing.
 

LawCharltonBest

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I did say this thread would get more relevant as the days pass..

Unfortunately I just know United / Glazers too well
 

kkengvib

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My opinion is they have every intention to sell and all these 'news' around them possibly staying on is nothing more than attempts to get as much as they can from the sale
 

Maticmaker

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As far as we can ascertain, the Glazers strategy with a leverage-buy out of the club was to put the resulting debt onto the club and as it reduced, 'grow the asset', then take their main profit by selling up. What their timescale was is anyone's guess, but the return of Ed Woodward to J P Morgan, must be assumed to be some sort of watershed.

Covid may have 'dented' the assumed 'asset growth' potential and certainly the collapse of the 'super league' (if only for a time) removed a future event of potential growth significance. Now with the need for physical redevelopment at OT/Carrington etc.or even a move to a new location looming, things are coming to a head. The Glazers have at last got a manager who seems to know how to build a modern football team, who has made some good player purchases already and just like when they took over with SAF in charge, having ETH onboard boosts the asset value in any sale.

I suspect that if they cannot get the Qatar interests and/or Britan's richest man Jim Ratcliffe, to pay their asking price of reputed £6B, then it has to come down. There are too many 'not sure's or 'not known's' looming, e.g Government appointed regulator etc. for the Glazers to risk hanging on. They do the deal now or adjust their initial strategy.
 

Melville Red

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The way the worlds finances are going at the moment I would sell sell sell. Interest rates are going up, what better time to have a lovely big chunk of cash. If things carry on like they are then the value of the club will only go down so a deal should be done quickly however the Glazers are a strange lot. Do they really have to sell? Reports state the family is split on this but if they can raise money just to pay off some of the debt or even all of it they may well stay and carry on taking the money out of United and paying their investors a nice sum every year a bit like a greedy landlord.
Its any one’s guess what is happening I do know that when you buy a house you very rarely offer the full asking price, it’s negotiable everything in life is negotiable and that’s what is happening now.
I’m hoping and praying that they go completely and do something stupid with their undeserved windfall, now that would be nice.
 

rizx

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The only thing that you can say with our knowledge in this and the sale thread is 50/50, either they sell or not :D
 

Prodigal7

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They would be pariah's in the business community. You don't waste the time of Goldman, JP Morgan, BoA and Sheikh's because they only offer around 50%(!!!) more than the actual share price. I wouldn't put anything past these people, but it still seems unlikely that they won't sell at this point. I predict:
1. A third round of bidding
2. After the third round they will pick out one bidder to engage directly with and it will be Jassim, who will end up raising his bid to 6bn (or within a few hundred mil) and it will be accepted.

Even if it doesn't reach 6bn in the end, I think they will sell for close to it.
 

lex talionis

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"Realistically"? The obvious answer is of course...yes.

If the actual question is whether the Glazers are "likely" to sell the club, take the cash, and light the cigars with thousand dollar bills while having a good laugh in their fecking shopping malls in Tampa, Florida then that's a yes, too.

What's definitely in the cards is that the status quo will not remain in place much longer. They're most likely to sell the club and run with the cash, never be to seen east of Florida ever again, but another option could be the minority ownership stake but at least I think there's a small chance of that. And I see zero chance of the Glazers saying no when we know that massive offers have been put on the table. Just my opinion...none of us have any idea how this is going to go and when.
 

glazed

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They can't stay on their current business model. The club would lose its capital value without investment. They only care about the numbers and the numbers say sell. The club has a huge extra value to sports washers, green washers and trillionaire status seekers, which can only be crystalised in a sale.
 

Appletonred

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I've always had a feeling they will sell for £5.8bn, realistically, they have took the club as far as they can regarding taking money out, it is now the right time for them to cash out.
 

SuperScoot

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I think they need to sell. They've run out of wriggle room, with the club and infrastructure in need of serious investment, plus we are now having to sell to buy, due to all the money wasted under their ownership.

They've bled us dry, in parasitic terms.

They will and must sell to the highest bidder, all the talk of staying with minority sale investment, is just putting pressure on the two seriously interested parties, to pay the maximum price.

If I'm wrong and they do stay, then they'll be judged based on what happens with the minority sale cash, do they pocket some of it and spend the bare minimum on the club?

They just need to go now.
 

Raoul

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Yes, they could realistically stay by restructuring their ownership in a way that would allow those siblings that want out to get out and get additional money from IB investment.

Although illogical and inappropriate given the fan revolt that would take place, it is not outside the realm of possibility.
 

londonredmaniac

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The reality is they can sit in their mansions in Tampa and do what the feck they please with zero consequence.

However, I hope beyond hope they can't be arsed and just take the wedge.

The shit cnuts.
 

glazed

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"Only when the tide goes out do you discover who's been swimming naked" said Warren Buffet. Meaning you only find out whose business model is broken when the tough times hit. In particular the Glazers have a great love of using debt to finance their operations and the return of 'high' dollar interest rates makes that a lot harder than it used to be. My guess is they are swimming naked and they have to sell before the tide goes out.
 

Greck

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Anyone offering to financially back the Glazers at this point is just looking to repo the club. Everyone and their dog knows they don't have the means.
 

SuperiorXI

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Yes, they could realistically stay by restructuring their ownership in a way that would allow those siblings that want out to get out and get additional money from IB investment.

Although illogical and inappropriate given the fan revolt that would take place, it is not outside the realm of possibility.
Lets say they did do that and the fans kick off, I don't think they will give a shit. They might go on a Teams call but that's probably the most you'll get out of them.
 

Escobar

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Well, if they thibk we are on the up, they can reject and hopd out for more. However, our debt, need for investments, siblings pressure to sell, speak against it
 

LawCharltonBest

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I worry they’ll stay but something that gives me hope is that I can’t visualise any realistic positives to them staying at this point

If they u-turn now, they’re never getting bids from Ineos or Qatar again (their only two serious bidders in 18 years). And then staying means they’ll either have to put money they have or are entitled to into the club, or just watch the club decline and lose loads of value.

Neither seems it would be more attractive to the Glazers than pocketing the £5billion/$6billilon they have on the table right now
 

glazed

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I worry they’ll stay but something that gives me hope is that I can’t visualise any realistic positives to them staying at this point

If they u-turn now, they’re never getting bids from Ineos or Qatar again (their only two serious bidders in 18 years). And then staying means they’ll either have to put money they have or are entitled to into the club, or just watch the club decline and lose loads of value.
It's unlikely they stay. This is game theory shenanigans plus maybe Avram messing with his family who may need to sell more than him (and therefore he will make them pay him extra.) The only way they stay is if greed causes them to overplay their quite weak hand.
 

sglowrider

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They could pull a few levers like Laporta's Barca like sell off parts of MUtV or the TV revenue and fund future financial needs including stadium upgrades or service the increasing debt burden.
 

stw2022

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Not selling would be suicide for the Glazers. At best they have allowed the assumption of a full sale to establish. People who they consider peers in the business, corporate and financial worlds have spent likely many millions and many man hours and poured valuable resource into planning, preparing, commissioning, consulting, advising, underwriting and completing all necessary due diligence to make an offer.

If the Glazers don't sell their name with people they care about will be mud and future investment or partnership needed in any future venture week be in jeopardy as this would leave sour taste in mouth.

When you're talking about hundreds of millions of billions of dollars, trust matters. No way the Glazers will blow that now.

And yeah sorry but they DO have a good reputation in that world. The access to credit banks allow them to have show that. Reputation in this sense isn't dependent on when their football club last won a title or signed a decent striker. So let's separate that.
 

sglowrider

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Not selling would be suicide for the Glazers. At best they have allowed the assumption of a full sale to establish. People who they consider peers in the business, corporate and financial worlds have spent likely many millions and many man hours and poured valuable resource into planning, preparing, commissioning, consulting, advising, underwriting and completing all necessary due diligence to make an offer.

If the Glazers don't sell their name with people they care about will be mud and future investment or partnership needed in any future venture week be in jeopardy as this would leave sour taste in mouth.

When you're talking about hundreds of millions of billions of dollars, trust matters. No way the Glazers will blow that now.

And yeah sorry but they DO have a good reputation in that world. The access to credit banks allow them to have show that. Reputation in this sense isn't dependent on when their football club last won a title or signed a decent striker. So let's separate that.
I think they will sell but never underestimate the cnutiness of the Glazers.
 

gulli_G

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No way do they stay, we hate them but they know how to squeeze every penny out of their asset. We are just purely a financial instrument handed to them by their dad, not like their NFL team, which is more of a personal hobby for them.

The Cash Cow has run dry and after seeing Chelsea sell quick and Liverpool on the Market they moved fast, its now or never for them. All this news about them staying is just part of the negotiation tactics.

United as big as it is does not generate enough cash for the debt, wages and transfer fees needed to compete with City, Newcastle etc., let alone stadium and Carrington refresh.

The fact they didn't take a dividend shows they cashing in. If they stay they will never get a chance like this and will eventually end up having to asset strip.
 

mitchmouse

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I will worry about this until a new owner comes in and throws their desks out the window! I don't trust them at all, but of course that's just me and how I feel...
 

devilish

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No wonder why Elliott are circling around these idiots. They will 'invest' in the club with an endless list of clauses and then they'll wait for them to default on one of those commitment so they would take full control over the club
 

mitchmouse

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No wonder why Elliott are circling around these idiots. They will 'invest' in the club with an endless list of clauses and then they'll wait for them to default on one of those commitment so they would take full control over the club
Hedge fund owners? We might as well sell to that Victorian pencil, Rees-Mogg
 

devilish

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Hedge fund owners? We might as well sell to that Victorian pencil, Rees-Mogg
Elliott is all about smart money. When they took over AC Milan they invested around 500m euros of their own money, they restructured the club turning the once sluggish WWE style of management Berlusconi believed in towards the end of his reign there into a lean, efficient and cost effective machine. At one point they even toyed in building a new stadium only to come to the realisation that in Italy there are 2 things you can never win ie Death and Italian bureaucracy. However Elliott are absolute lethal with people who waste money and they will take these idiots to the cleaners.

I am starting to warm at this unholy alliance as I know that they would screw the Glazers up. Its becoming increasingly appeasing as opposed to what looks (at the time of writing) the INEOS football family of losers
 

Appletonred

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Makes zero financial sense for the Glazers to stay on in any capacity, no further dividends taken must be quite painful for them but they have
pretty much run their cash cow into the ground and they stand to make far more now through selling than anything else.

I think also the Glazers in the unlikely event of staying on could actually have a negative effect on not just the fanbase but also the actual playing squad regarding morale, therefore,
all things considered, in all likelihood a very likely scenario is that they do indeed call time soon on their ownership of the club.
 
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Dansk

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If they don't get a satisfactory offer, they'll stay. The club's value has gone up and up even while we were shit for a decade, and now that we might be back on track again, it'll only improve even faster. I could easily see them waiting another year or two. If we were to win the league during that time, or reach a CL final or something, they could probably squeeze an additional billion out of a prospective buyer; and all the while, they're raking in millions in dividends for doing literally nothing. As long as they don't urgently need a huge influx of cash for some other venture, they'll have no qualms waiting for a better deal.
 

Wibble

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I'd say a sale is almost certain and that the Glazers are just trying to get as high a price as possible.
 

OrcaFat

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If they don't get a satisfactory offer, they'll stay. The club's value has gone up and up even while we were shit for a decade, and now that we might be back on track again, it'll only improve even faster. I could easily see them waiting another year or two. If we were to win the league during that time, or reach a CL final or something, they could probably squeeze an additional billion out of a prospective buyer; and all the while, they're raking in millions in dividends for doing literally nothing. As long as they don't urgently need a huge influx of cash for some other venture, they'll have no qualms waiting for a better deal.
Yes I agree. I think they will only sell now if they get an offer too good to refuse.
 

Abraxas

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It's nice to tell ourselves they can't stay but they most definitely can. What is to stop them? There is nothing in the immediate finances that says they need to sell right now. They could stay around for more years yet. Yes there is debt and yes we need infrastructure investment, but that's been the case for ages, they are happy turning a blind eye to it.

They've always been in it for the valuation not the dividends, primarily. The dividends are a nice little earner but it's not the reason they will or won't sell. So if it's about a valuation that tells me they'll sell when they've cooked that particular turkey to its full potential. If it's now it's now, if they don't get what they want they'll wait. These Americans are convinced sports clubs are worth a certain amount.
 

Telsim

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The Elliot deal will be announced soon enough, I think. They will probably release some joint statement about their commitment to the club, something vague about a renovation of the stadium, this, that, and the other. All not true of course, but will do enough to quell any serious unrest until fans just deal with it. That, and the next blockbuster signing in the summer. But some of them are staying in some capacity, I've resigned myself to this outcome. I will be shocked if they fully sell by this point.