Fuming Qataris say they DID meet Man United’s £4.5bn asking price AND show proof of funds despite club telling its shareholders that they did not after Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s offer was accepted
- Team involved in the doomed offer from Sheikh Jassim have been left furious
- United told shareholders that Qatar group did not hit valuation set by the Glazers
- Sir Jim Ratcliffe should target Thomas Tuchel, he’s got unfinished business – It’s All Kicking Off
Those behind the Qatar-based bid for Manchester United say they DID meet the asking price AND provided proof of funds.
Mail Sport understands that the team involved in the doomed offer from Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani have been left furious after United claimed to shareholders that their group did not hit the valuation set by owners the Glazers or show evidence as to where the finance was coming from.
They may now seek a corrective statement from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) where United made the claims on Wednesday.
In a number of filings to shareholders, United disclosed that the Qatar bid did not meet an asking price of around £4.5bn, excluding the existing debt, for the club and said that despite repeated requests no proof of funding was handed over.
However, sources close to the fruitless bid are adamant that they offered around £4.5bn – slightly below Ratcliffe’s accepted bid but with all debt being paid off – and provided proof of funding throughout.
Talks have taken place over a response – and the prospect of issuing a demand to the SEC to issue a corrective statement.
United declined to comment but are thought to be confident in the detail published in the documents.
But those involved in the ultimately failed bid, which was for a full takeover, have been left incensed by what they believe are cleverly-worded statements which, when put together, present a misleading story.
United’s filing said that ‘Bidder A’ repeatedly failed to submit ‘customary financing commitment letters’.
However, insiders have countered that, saying that among various pieces of financial information handed over by Sheikh Jassim’s team was a separate bank guarantee from the chief executive of Qatar National Bank, which is viewed as the largest financial institution in the Middle East and Africa.
They are also frustrated that, while mention in the papers is made of the £237m planned investment from Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s group, who eventually secured a deal to buy around 25 per cent of the club, shareholders are not told of Sheikh Jassim’s promise to provide an immediate infrastructure injection of around £1bn ($1.3bn).
In October, the Sheikh Jassim group withdrew from the process, leaving Ratcliffe as the only serious contender.
The documents say a final bid from the Qatari camp of around £4bn was rejected, however those involved insist that is inaccurate and that the final figure was much higher.
Despite the depth of feeling, it is thought that the likeliest outcome is that the group will move on, bruised by the experience and left deeply sceptical over whether the club’s owners, the Glazer family, ever had any intention of selling to them.
They also believe the agreement could run into issues given how Ratcliffe’s stated control of sporting matters at United reconciles with his ownership of Nice under UEFA rules on multi-club ownership, although with United some way of European qualification the situation is currently redundant.
