MANCHESTER UNITED’S takeover saga has taken another twist.
That’s with the Glazers sanctioning a THIRD round of bidding after failing to accept any offer so far.
AFPA third round of bidding is set to get underway for Man Utd[/caption]
TalkSport claims interested parties have been informed they have until the end of the month to submit revised offers.
The Glazers are holding out for a whopping £6billion fee as they look to sell up.
But so far the highest offers, from Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Qatari Sheikh Jassim Bin Al Thani, have only reached £5bn.
The pair are both determined to take full control at Old Trafford.
However, another round of bidding hints that neither party’s original bid has been deemed satisfactory.
And the Glazers could start exploring a minority investment option if their demands are not met.
Last month saw chaotic scenes as the deadline for bids was extended by 48 hours.
It led to Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim withdrawing their offers before submitting them again.
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Sir Jim Ratcliffe is hoping to take charge at Old TraffordPA
Sheikh Jassim has offered £5bn for a full takeover
But a third round of bidding could open the door for a latecomer to hijack the deal.
It comes after senior Government officials reportedly expressed concerns over Sheikh Jassim.
He is chairman of one of Qatar’s biggest banks, QIB, which has assets of £42bn.
Sheikh Jassim is bidding as a private individual via his Nine Two Foundation, rather than using any QIB funds.
But Government reservations are understood to relate to a £1.4m fine handed out to QIB’S UK unit by the Bank of England.
The 2016 punishment was for violating capital financial rules that left the bank exposed to high levels of risk.
Regulators said QIB had “failed to meet some of the most basic regulatory standards”.
QIB claimed at the time to have taken “remedial action” to prevent a recurrence.
Representatives for Sheikh Jassim and the DCMS declined to comment.