Glazer plans another attempt to acquire control of Manchester United

AMERICAN businessman Malcolm Glazer is to make another attempt to court Manchester United’s Irish investors John Magnier and JP McManus.

Mr Glazer, whose bid for the club has been thwarted by its board and the Irish pair, will make another pitch to acquire the former Premiership League champions. His first move, according to sources, will be to “sweeten” his offer to buy the 28.9% stake held by the Irishmen. Last month they rejected an offer by the American. The 300p a share offer was rebuffed as it came with a number of pre-conditions, including that they would not receive the money until the takeover of United was completed.

Mr Glazer, who owns 28.1% of United, is reported to have dropped that condition and would pay the Irish investors upfront for their stake after a limited period scanning United’s financial accounts.

“What he’s saying now is that they can have their money if they want to sell after seven days of due diligence,” said a source yesterday.

No new contact has taken place between Mr Glazer and the Irish pair.

He has lined up financial backing for a bid, though the club said it would be weary of selling out if left a huge amount of debt on its books. It said that any bid that would leave the club “overly leveraged” would not be in the best interests of the company.

Though a wealthy businessman, Mr Glazer would have to spend close to €1.2 billion to get outright control of United. His bankers were willing to lend him close to €600 million. The loans would then become United’s and fans feared Mr Glazer would use the club’s assets to repay his borrowings meaning higher ticket prices and less money for player transfers.

Manchester United shares rose 0.5% in afternoon trading in London to 287p.

Additional reporting by Reuters