Glazer wins control of Man United

[Salem6]

US sports tycoon Malcolm Glazer has won control of Manchester United in a £790m ($1.47bn) takeover bid.

Looks more like John McCririck evry day lol
Mr Glazer had until 17 May to make his intentions known

The American has secured the 28.7% stake owned by Irish racing tycoons JP MacManus and John Magnier, and now has 62% of the Premiership club.

Red Football Ltd, acting on behalf of Mr Glazer, said the Irishmen had sold their stakes for 300p a share.

Club fans have vehemently opposed Mr Glazer's ambition all along and fear that ticket prices will soar.

The bid comes five days ahead of the 17 May deadline when Mr Glazer had to make known whether he planned to bid.

'Aggressive'

Mr Glazer now wants to buy the rest of the club's shares. If he gets 75% plus one share, United could be delisted from the stock exchange and Mr Glazer could transfer his debt onto the club.

TIMELINE OF A TAKEOVER
March 2003 - Glazer buys 2.9% stake in club
March 2004 - Glazer says he has "no current intention" of making a bid
June 2004 - Glazer's stake in club nears 20%
October 2004 - United confirms bid approach from Glazer, as his stake nears 30%
November 2004 - Glazer ousts three directors from United's board
December 2004 -Glazer makes revised bid
February 2005 - Glazer makes new bid approach, valuing United at £800m, the club later opens its books to the tycoon
14 April 2005 - Glazer moots £800m bid for club
28 April 2005 - Takeover Panel sets 17 May deadline for Glazer to announce whether he intends to buy United
12 May 2005 - Glazer launches formal takeover bid for United after upping his stake in the club to almost 57%

If he can get 90% plus one share, he can make a compulsory purchase and scoop up the other 10% of the club's shares.

With heavy trading in Manchester United shares taking place after the announcement, it is already looking increasingly likely that Mr Glazer will quickly reach the 90.01% stake he needs to force out any remaining shareholders.

United's third-biggest shareholder Scottish mining millionaire Harry Dobson is already reported to have sold his 6.45% stake after the Irishmen sold theirs.

Shares in Manchester United closed up 34.25 pence, or 12.92%, at 299.25p on Thursday.

'Damaging'

Mr Glazer first showed an interest in buying the club last autumn and tabled a formal proposal in October, which was rejected by the board.

The owner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is thought to be keen to exploit the strength of the Manchester United brand in the US.

Two weeks ago, the club board said it could not recommend Mr Glazer's second takeover proposal to shareholders because his business plan appeared to be too "aggressive".

His offers were rejected on the grounds that his plans relied too heavily on borrowed money.

The club's chief executive David Gill said Mr Glazer's business plan was "potentially damaging" to the club amid fears that the American could saddle it with up to £300m worth of debt.

However, members of the board did agree that some shareholders might think the offer was a good one.

Outrage





Manchester United fans are angry at the latest news. Last year, they formed a shareholders' association to buy club shares and try to protect it from Mr Glazer's clutches.

A spokesman for Shareholders United, which represents 17% of the club's shareholders, told the BBC that Mr Glazer was "no Roman Abramovich".

"He's not turning up with a suitcase full of his own cash and he is, in effect, asking Manchester United fans to pay for his takeover, to pay for increased ticket prices and increased merchandising," said spokesman Oliver Houston.

"We feel completely betrayed by John Magnier and JP McManus."

The Irishmen are estimated to have made a £70m profit from their stake.

A spokesman for the duo said: "They saw it as an investment. They got a very good deal."

'Game over'

"I'm giving up my season ticket," said Shareholders United president Nick Towle.

"I'm not putting a penny of my money into this guy's pocket."

Mr Towle said Shareholders United still hoped to stop the tycoon getting a 75% stake.

"If we can get to that 25% of the remaining shareholders, that would be great," Mr Towle added. "But it's looking like an uphill battle for us."

Analysts are convinced that the 76-year-old is unstoppable.

"I think it's pretty much game over now as the key to all this was always going to surround what the Irish duo would do with their stake," said Richard Hunter of stockbrokers Hargreaves Lansdown.




news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4540939.stm

[Salem6]

Article by The Editor on May 12, 2005 04:45 PM

Malcolm Glazer has finally made a £790m formal offer for the Manchester United having successfully concluded a deal with Irish racing duo JP McManus and John Magnier for their 28.7% stake in the club. It takes Glazer's holding in United to 56.9% - an overall majority. However, the club will remain a PLC until Glazer is able to secure a 75% holding in the club. This is unlikely to prove a problem as large amounts of the remaining shares are held by city institutions such as pension funds. In all likelihood this is game over for the anti-Glazer movement. Glazer is now in effective control of the club and can do with it as he wishes. Look forward to 100% price rises and indefinite restrictions on player purchases.



As Rant has pointed out many times in the past, Glazer has borrowed in excess of £550m to fund his bid for the club. Furthermore, Manchester United will be his only source of income to pay off that debt. The logical conclusion is clear - the club's customers, its fans, will effectively buy the club for the American tycoon through ticket and merchandise sales as well as TV rights.

The story doesn't end there though. Glazer is no Abramovich and the vast debt that he has now built up in Manchester United's name means that, on current performance, all of the club's profits will be used to service interest payments alone. This is the nightmare scenario fans were concerned about from the start.

If you think this season's performance on the pitch was bad you ain't seen nothing yet. Giggs, Scholes, Keane and co will still be playing for the club when they hit 40 as there will be no, repeat no, funds for players transfers for some time to come. In full knowledge of this fact Glazer has promised to sweeten the deal with £20m for transfers this summer. Don't be fooled - the money on offer is borrowed too and in any case it'll be the last money Sir Alex sees for quite some time.

In the longer term the spectre of Leeds United haunts this deal. Leeds went bust on debts of a little over £100m. United will now have debts in excess of £550m. Should United's profits take a dip, if the club fails to qualify for the Champions League for example, there is a real and present danger of The Reds defaulting on the loans. In that scenario the banks would effectively own the club with their only responsibility being to realise as much value from the company's assets as possible. All players, the stadium, and the training ground would be sold as has happened at Leeds.

In the medium term expect massive changes at Old Trafford. Glazer needs to find new income streams quickly in order to service this massive new debt. How is he going to do this? Through:

A massive ticket price hike: if you thought £608 was expensive this season, expect
it to be over £1000 in a year's time
A huge rise in the cost of matchday catering and parking, United merchandise etc
The big one: an attempt to renegotiate TV contracts so that United can sell
their own rights rather than in a pool with the rest of the Premiership clubs
Stadium naming rights: expect it to be called "Nike Trafford" very soon
Sale and lease back of Old Trafford: Glazer could sell the ground and rent it back

Shareholders United and the Independent Manchester United Supporters Club were quick to act by calling a protest at Old Trafford for 5pm this evening. However Glazer already knows that United fans are against him - it doesn't matter to a man 3000 miles away who never has and never will visit Old Trafford. Get yourself down to Old Trafford this evening if you can, or if you're down South to the United v Charlton reserve team match at The Valley tonight. Shout and protest but in all honesty this is the death of Manchester United as we know it.

Manchester United Football Club, R.I.P, 1878 - 2005



www.unitedrant.co.uk/archives/2005/05/the_death_of_un.html