Manchester United's change of hands has come to a climax, the British Sun newspaper disclosed that the United's head of the Glasha family has accepted in principle the Qatari "second-generation" Sheikh Al-Thani led a consortium to sell the team for as much as 6 billion pounds (about 60 billion Hong Kong dollars). The news is expected to be officially announced in September, and the deal is expected to be finalized in mid-October. United's shares soared more than 10 percent in after-hours trading after the U.S. stock market closed, signaling good things are on the horizon.
Since the Glasha family announced the sale of Manchester United in November last year, there have been many rounds of fierce bidding, with the main rivals being Sheikh Al-Thani and British business magnate Ratcliffe. In June this year, Qatari media were the first to report that Sheikh Al Thani had won and was expected to become the new owner of Manchester United, but subsequent developments have been stonewalled.
It is understood that the Glasha family had hoped to suggest a partial retention of their stake and Ratcliffe had shown a willingness to go along with this, only intending to acquire the majority of the shares, which would seem to put them in a good position in the takeover battle. However, the United management were concerned that the continued retention of the Glasha family would spark discontent amongst the fans and therefore recommended that the 100% share offer from Sheikh Al-Thani be accepted in its entirety.
In fact, not only did Sheikh Al-Thani make a more generous bid than Ratcliffe, but he also promised to pay off United's debt of £725 million (HK$7.25 billion) and invest an additional £1 billion (HK$10 billion) in upgrading the facilities at their home stadium, the Ottover Stadium, as well as revitalizing the economic development of the surrounding area. These promises have won the support of many United fans, and the Glasha family would not be doing themselves any favors by continuing to hesitate, and a deal is expected to be struck quickly.
