Manchester United are going through a lot right now around the club, both on and off the pitch.
While the Mason Greenwood incident has reared its ugly head again, there’s also the small matter of the club finding new owners in the first quarter of the year.
There has been a lot of talk about a potential sale and the pricing involved and we could be taking the first concrete steps in that direction sometime this week.
Formal offers for United expected very soon
The Mail on Sunday has revealed that “formal offers for Manchester United will be made in the next week or so.”
A minimum price of £4bn is expected and initial offers are expected from potential buyers in the US, the Middle East and Asia.
“But the first candidate in the race to buy United is British billionaire and childhood fan Jim Ratcliffe, owner of chemical conglomerate Ineos,” the report stated.
The club is currently valued at £3 billion ($3.67 billion) on the New York stock market and United share prices have risen since talk of new ownership.
Formal bids for #MUFC are due in the next week or so. [@MailSport]#GlazersOut #mulive ???????? pic.twitter.com/SIul0DFaLT
— Noah Mcilroy (@NsmUnited) February 4, 2023
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire from the University of Liverpool explained the bidding process clearly and succinctly in the report.
A buyer is expected to pay around 25 per cent more than that for full ownership and control, implying a current, floor price of £4bn.
Analysts say that in United’s case, the recent rise in share price means this premium is already included, but higher bids are still likely.
The new owners will have their chore cut back
It must also be remembered that the new owners will have to spend considerably on equipment while they improve the facilities at Carrington and rebuild or renovate Old Trafford.
“There is a vanity asset premium relative to Manchester United that I suspect the market hasn’t accounted for yet,” Maguire said.
“The Glazers are expecting £6-8bn, but (the) business fundamentals don’t justify that price, especially with a substantial (required) capex commitment to a new or upgraded Old Trafford.
“So it will either be auction drunkenness or testosterone that results in a price of that nature, but we’ve seen it before.”
The Glazers have been trying to build interest in recent weeks. Co-owner Avram Glazer reportedly flew to the World Cup in Qatar, where he is said to have held a series of informal meetings with potential investors.
They were also spotted in Dubai recently, while the club even opened a temporary store in the Swiss ski resort of Davos during the recent World Economic Forum meeting.
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