The long rumored sale of Manchester United to Qatari Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani moved closer this week, with the team’s stock price rising 20% and continuing to rise 8% at the opening of the Wall Street market on Thursday. The purchase offer from the Sheikh’s consortium that began in November is the most likely to succeed, and would be the most expensive sports transaction in history, with a price tag of around 6,000 million euros.
Despite competition from British businessman Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos group, the Sheikh’s offer has been the favorite as it proposes a complete sale to all shareholders. This appeals to the Glazer family, who own the majority of the voting rights. Ratcliffe’s plans would leave American investors with a smaller stake in the club.
Reuters reports that current talks between the two parties are close to establishing an exclusive period, at which point there would be no more opportunity to increase the offer from either side. Reuters did not elaborate on the length of the exclusivity period, leaving the door open for Ratcliffe to make a new offer.
No matter the final outcome, Manchester United’s stock has experienced an impressive rise of 55% since the Glazer family’s initial announcement of the sale intentions on November 22. With the sale drawing closer, so do subsequent increases in the share price.