Kieran Maguire hits out at Man United takeover twist – ‘it’s a circus’
It is ‘bizarre’ that both Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim left it so late to submit their Man United takeover bids.
That is the view of finance expert Kieran Maguire, who exclusively spoke to Football Insider about the chaotic events that surrounded the Man United takeover deadline on Wednesday.
Bidders were told by the Raine Group that the deadline for submitting takeover bids was 9pm on Wednesday (22 March).
Despite initial reports suggesting both Jassim and Ratcliffe were able to submit bids in time, it then transpired that both parties were granted extensions by the Glazers and the Raine Group – who are overseeing the bidding process.
Sky Sports report that both bids are now expected to be submitted before the end of the week.
Ratcliffe and Jassim’s parties remain the frontrunners in the takeover race, but Raine Group confirmed they received ‘many proposals’ regarding investment.
Maguire suggested there has been a lot of ‘grandstanding’ in the takeover process so far.
“It looks like Jassim was given an extension and therefore Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s party then insisted they were entitled to the same once they found out,” Maguire told Football Insider.
“But I can’t understand why they left it so late when involved in buying a major, global institution.
“In the same sense, it struck me as bizarre that they were showing bidders around the Friday before the deadline.
“With the sale being held on such a large scale, surely the Glazers needed to allow more time to reflect and decide.
It seems there has been an awful lot of grandstanding in regard to this takeover, it’s been like a circus.”
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