Glazer’s second takeover bid for Man United not easy to ignore

Unlike Glazer’s first approach for the club in October, rejected on the grounds that it was too highly leveraged, this offer will contain substantially less debt and more equity. The Sunday Telegraph has learned that the second bid will contain only about pounds 300mn of debt.

As part of the plan to ‘‘sell’’ the deal to vehemently opposing Man Utd’s fans, the formal takeover offer will include a guarantee of substantial investment in new players as well as a pledge to increase Man Utd’s commercial revenues.

There will also be a commitment by Glazer — who owns 28 per cent of Man Utd’s shares — to proceed with plans to spend 45mn pounds to boost Old Trafford’s capacity by 7,900 seats to just below 76,000 seats, making it the largest stadium in the country after Twickenham and the new Wembley.

With the funding for the deal is in place, Glazer hopes that discussions will take place this week between advisors for the two sides to address any concerns the Man Utd board may have about the terms and structure of the formal offer. This time it is unlikely that the Man Utd board will be able to reject the offer on the grounds that there is too much debt involved.

While the executive directors will be retained, non-executives headed by chairman Sir Roy Gardner will probably be not invited to stay on. Chief executive David Gill has said he will only enter into talks if a proper, deliverable offer is put on the table.

Some analysts believe that 300p per share is a fair price for the company. One said: ‘‘To knock it (the deal) back, Gill would have to prove that either Glazer was somehow not fit to own the club or that the deal structure was still wrong.’’

The Sunday Telegraph