Joe Ravitch, who formed part of the protracted takeover saga at Manchester United, says “Qataris were very real” following Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s jibe.
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- Glazer family opened themselves up to offers
- Interest from the Middle East eventually dropped
- INEOS acquired 25 per cent stake in Red Devils
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WHAT HAPPENED?
After seeing the Glazer family open themselves up to offers at Old Trafford, a long-running bid for power played out. Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani was a leading player in that process, but ultimately walked away from talks when a deal became impossible.
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- Getty/GOAL
THE BIGGER PICTURE
That left the door open for Ratcliffe to acquire a 25 per cent stake in the Red Devils, with the INEOS chief claiming at one stage: “Still nobody’s ever seen him (Sheikh Jassim), actually. The Glazers never met him… he never… I’m not sure he exists!”
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WHAT RAVITCH SAID ABOUT MAN UTD
Ravitch – co-founder and partner at Raine Group, who were charged with the task of negotiating with interested parties – has told of takeover talks: “We met Jassim. He was in New York. He’s a lovely guy; a very smart guy. The Qataris were very real. They were very smart guys, very thoughtful. I don’t know why they didn’t appreciate the value [of the club] but we were not their adviser. We tried as the seller to explain the value to them, and they put what they thought was a series of very serious bids on the table.”
- Qib.com.qa & Man Utd
DID YOU KNOW?
Ravitch added on why the Qatari bid fell short, with United having been valued at “around $6.5bn [£5bn]”: “I think the Qataris got to about $5.75bn. We said to them, ‘You’re within 10 per cent, why don’t you get in a room and try to get to a deal.’ But they said no. I think they were very conscious of criticism if they were seen to be overpaying.”
