Manchester United's owners, the
Glazer family, are on the verge of
selling the club to Qatar Holdings
in a £1.6 billion deal, according to
the Daily Express.
The newspaper reports that
United's American owners are
"only haggling over details" as
they close in on a deal worth
more than double the £790
million they paid for the club in
2005.
United are preparing to take on
cash-rich neighbours Manchester
City on Saturday, who are
themselves owned by a wealthy
Middle Eastern backer in Abu
Dhabi's Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed
Al Nahyan, but it is believed the
Manchester derby could be the
last at Old Trafford under the
Glazer regime.
The unpopular Americans have
been at United for less than six
years, and in that time have
faced mass protests against their
stewardship, with fans concerned
that the debt-laden structure of
their ownership puts the long-
term future of the club at risk.
The Daily Express claims that the
Glazers had been holding out for
an offer of closer to £2 billion,
but have accepted the £1.6
billion bid, up from an initial £1.5
billion, with a "well-placed" source
quoted as saying: "The deal is
pretty much done and they are
only haggling over details".
Despite the claims that Qatar
Holdings, the investment branch
of the Qatari royal family led by
the Gulf state's Emir Sheikh
Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, is
nearing a takeover deal, United
have continued to deny that the
Glazers have been entertaining
any bids.
And on Thursday, United's
director of communications Phil
Townsend maintained that no
offer has been made. "There has
been no approach to buy
Manchester United and no
approach would be welcome", he
told the Daily Express.
Qatar Holdings already boasts a
portfolio of assets in England that
includes London's American
Embassy and upmarket
department store Harrods, which
it purchased from Fulham owner
Mohamed Al Fayed last year.
January 31, 2010, 03:47:49 PM