The owners of Manchester United are embroiled in a war over the sale of the club and ownership of the club’s shares amid a possible sale being discussed.
The Athletic has revealed shocking details indicating the difference in opinion and sentiment between the Glazer brothers.
Joel and Avram Glazer on one side and Edward, Kevin, Bryan and Darcie Glazer on the other.
Laurie Whitwell reports that Joel and Avram at one point tried to buy their brothers and run the 20-time English champions as a pair without their differing opinions.
Joel and Avram used the pretense of “stadium redevelopment” to approach Apollo, a private equity firm, to secure massive funding that would enable them to raise the money needed to kick out their brothers and sisters.
The Athletic relays: “In truth, the other four Glazer brothers have wanted to cash in for a long time. A source, who remains anonymous to protect his position, says that rather than go through the tortuous process of taking United public 10 years ago, Edward, Kevin, Bryan and Darcie Glazer would have preferred to sell it outright then.”
“Undisputed, and previously unreported, is that Joel and Avram attempted to buy out their brothers last summer. That’s what those conversations with Apollo, a private equity firm, were really about instead of finding funds to rebuild a stadium.”
“The theory is that Joel and Avram felt that letting their brothers go would free them up to run United in a more unified and streamlined way. Having four voices on the board whose focus has been on realizing the value of their stakes, rather than improving the club, hampered progression.”
The other four Glazers between them own 71,701,268 of the Class B shares worth 10 times the voting rights of Class A shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange. These have an estimated value of 980 million dollars.
Darcie owns an additional 603,806 Class A shares with an estimated value of $8.3 million.
The brothers’ stock ownership dynamics have led to speculation whether there is a private agreement not to trigger the stock conversion, as the other four would have the power to outvote Joel and Avram to keep any sales as shares of Class B, which will unlock its full value.
Whitwell adds that when Apollo turned down Joel and Avram’s offer, the brothers reached out to Ares. As in the first instance, there was no agreement that came to fruition either. These setbacks, along with accumulated debt and the cost of remodeling or rebuilding the stadium, may have ultimately pushed the family to sell.
