As reported by The Independent, Qatari investors are expected to raise their offer and submit a second bid in order to complete the takeover.
The key question is whether this would be enough to surpass INEOS’ assessment and eventually match the Glazer family’s valuation.
That also highlights one of the questions that has persisted throughout the entire process: would the Gulf state simply submit the offer that “blows everyone out of the water”?
Since it would have been extremely simple for Qatar to go to the Glazers and say they would pay the requisite amount before it all got started, it has come as a bit of a surprise that this wasn’t the plan from the beginning.
In the meanwhile, INEOS has the resources to compete, but the question is how much they believe it is wise to spend on the club given the current economic climate. Any concerns about sports washing are obviously much more important to Qatar.
All of it could prolong the process considerably, and some experts think Raine wants a third round of bids in any case, but it would undoubtedly take a very long time for someone to acquire 100% of United.
There has been resentment within INEOS over how some of this has been conveyed. Even though it has been claimed that Qatar is actively seeking to acquire 100% of the club, Raine is unable to approve of that.
If someone wanted the entire share, they would still need to contact the individual shareholders and move through the Singapore stock exchange, which could take months.
Similar attention has been paid to the fact that INEOS is only wanting to purchase 69% of the Glazers’ shares, but the group led by Sir Jim Ratcliffe is aiming to acquire 100% of the Class B shares, giving them essentially complete control of the club.
Although it is widely believed that Qatar will be willing to spend more money, the fact that the INEOS agreement is considered as being “cleaner” to complete could be a benefit.
It is believed that there would be tremendous resistance to such a takeover from the rest of the Premier League given the controversy surrounding Newcastle United and how financially unstoppable a Manchester United supported by Qatar could be.
That might perpetually ruin the competitive balance of the league.
