18 January 2024 , 09:13
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Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani was heavily involved in the protracted Manchester United takeover – but the Qatari banker never came close to winning the race.
Alongside Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Sheikh Jassim was the main protagonist of the process, which began in November 2022 when the Glazer family announced their intentions to explore “strategic alternatives” for the club. The mysterious chairman of the Qatar Islamic Bank had a vociferous backing among fans on social media, who desperately wanted to be rid of the Glazers, and a strong PR campaign behind him, but his bid lacked in other, more important, departments.
It was reported on a few occasions throughout the lengthy – and at times shambolic – process that Sheikh Jassim had edged ahead of Ratcliffe and was close to shaking hands with the Glazers. But in truth, his dream of buying 100 per cent of the club’s shares and to “return the club to its former glories both on and off the pitch” was unrealistic.
Documents on the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, which were released on Wednesday, does show that Sheikh Jassim got much further than most. There were 170 interested parties who contacted merchant bank Raine Group, who were overseeing the process on behalf of the Glazers, with 26 then signing non-disclosure agreements and eight reaching the second round of the process.
But the filing also reveals that Sheikh Jassim’s offer was always some way off aligning with the Glazers. Sheikh Jassim is referred to as “Bidder A” in the document and the phrase “did not provide the shareholders with sufficient value” is mentioned more than once in relation to what he was proposing. For example, in May 2023 the Qatari group offered $30.01 per ordinary share, but Raine replied to say they wanted $35.25.
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It wasn’t just about the money being offered, either. Sheikh Jassim was also proposing to pay a different price for the A and B shares. The Independent notes that United would be sued had they accepted an offer which had different amounts for A and B shares.
Meanwhile, it was continually noted that the proposal “did not provide customary financing commitment letters”. The inference is that the Qatari group never proved they had the money they were offering to pay.
Sheikh Jassim never showed proof of funds to buy Manchester UnitedThroughout the summer, Raine and the lawyers working on the takeover met with representatives of Sheikh Jassim, but to no avail: “Between June 2023 and August of 2023, representatives of Bidder A and representatives of Manchester United conducted due diligence sessions, exchanged drafts of the merger agreements and had multiple telephone conversations and videoconferences to discuss outstanding issues and potential transaction structures”.
The document shows that Sheikh Jassim formally withdrew from the process on October 15, a day after Mirror Football reported those intentions. That left the path clear for Ratcliffe and his INEOS group, who announced on December 24 that they had reached an agreement to buy 25 per cent of the club for £1.3billion. That deal is still awaiting official approval, but Ratcliffe and INEOS director of sport Sir Dave Brailsford are already making themselves at home at United.