Manchester United’s shares experienced a drop in early Monday trading due to emerging news that Qatari financier Sheikh Jassim has withdrawn his plans to take over the famed English football club.
The pre-opening trading session saw an 11.8% drop in Manchester United Ltd MANU shares, though they had gained 1.2% just last Friday.
Sheikh Jassim, who serves as the chairman of Qatar Islamic Bank and is the offspring of a former Qatari prime minister, has been contending with British tycoon Sir Jim Ratcliffe for the ownership of Manchester United, which is currently under the Glazer family’s control. It’s understood that Jassim’s ambitions extended to acquiring the entire club.
Having acquired Manchester United in 2005, the Glazer family announced last November that they were contemplating avenues for potential financial infusion or even a complete sale of the team.
Recently, sources like Bloomberg highlighted that Ratcliffe, who heads the chemical conglomerate Ineos, is revising his approach to buy Manchester United to end the protracted tug-of-war over its control.
The Guardian has hinted that an imminent decision by Manchester United’s board is expected concerning Ratcliffe’s offer for a 25% ownership in the team, which is estimated to be worth around $1.6 billion.
No official statement has been received from Ineos or Manchester United concerning these updates.
Over the past quarter, Manchester United’s stock has seen a decrease of 15.5%, which is notably steeper than the 3.9% dip of the S&P 500 index.
