Glazer given three weeks to make offer

MALCOLM GLAZER has been given less than three weeks to make a formal offer for Manchester United by the British Takeover Panel or walk away from the club.

The Takeover Panel, which regulates mergers and acquisition in Britain, issued a “put up or shut up” notice to the American, giving him until midday on May 17 to declare a firm intention to make an offer or say he was no longer interested in the club.

The warning from the Takeover Panel was swiftly followed yesterday by confirmation from United’s board that it could not recommend Mr Glazer’s €1.1 billion offer for the club, despite the revised proposal that was put to the board.

Mr Glazer’s new bid would leave United with €440 million of debt on its balance sheet, something that the club said yesterday would not be in its interest.

“The board remains of the view that the assumptions in the Glazer business plan are aggressive,” a statement from the club said. “Furthermore the board believes that, notwithstanding the changes from the previous proposals, the proposed capital structure, taken as a whole, still contains more leverage than the board would consider prudent and that as a consequence there is likely to be significant financial strain on the business.”

The club said it believes the price pitched by Mr Glazer, around 300 pence (436c) a share, was fair and may be attractive to some shareholders. However, it could not recommend that shareholders accept it.

If Mr Glazer, who already owns 28% of United, does not make a statement by the deadline of May 17, he will be prevented from approaching the club for six months.

United complained to the Takeover Panel about the Glazer situation and the American has accepted its ruling.

The Glazer camp has spent considerable time trying to get the Manchester United board to recommend the offer and has tried to placate fans by including a few sweeteners as part of the deal, including a war chest for Alex Ferguson to spend on players.