26 Jun 2023 09:00:52
Hi Ed002,

Hope you're enjoying the weather wherever you are - or slowly regaining consciousness backstage as Glastonbury packs up!

Whilst I think (I suspect you have a legal background) you only deal with facts, would you be good enough to give any insights you might have about why the sale of United is taking so long?

Have Raine given their recommendations to the Glazers yet - and is it just up to the Glazers now to decide which bid to accept?

Are the Glazers hoping Raine will generate higher bids if they keep pitting both sides against each other?

Has everything been sorted and it's now a case of everything being signed off before an announcement being made? (Ie they are reluctant to identify an exclusive bidder just in case the preferred one falls through? )

Given the impending United quarterly meeting, are they just waiting for the right timing?

Are they waiting until the start of July (Ie contracts up) as they usually seem to do in the transfer window?

Or - hopefully not - have they just been playing the market and buyers all along and always intended to stay?

Sorry for the deluge of questions - just wondered if you are in a position to offer any hint of clarity.

Many thanks as always!

{Ed002's Note - There is no fixed period that takeovers need to be completed in but I understand the frustration fe;t by supporters. The situation remains that Raine will have ingformed the owners of the status of each of the two bids - which are are different in nature. Sheikh Yer Bouti wants a complete takeover at a fixed price and has made what may amount to be a final offer which does not match the value that has been placed on the club, but may prove acceptable. Jim Ratcliffe offers a deal that allows the Glazers to retain part ownership but, without going in to detail, he needs the remaining owners to trade their Class A and Class B shares in to common stock - and this they will be reluctant to do as it waters down their voting rights. Raine favour the offer from Jim Ratcliffe and it probably is attractive to the owners but they will not want to exchange their remaining shares which means that the offer from Sheikh Yer Bouti, if it really is a final offer, may be acceptable will clear debts and remove the Glazers, but it ties the club very closely to the Qautari state. Nobody is waiting a Quarterly Meeting, a fixed date or anything else. Regardless, both sides remain keen to push a deal through and Jim already owns Luserne and Nice to form the basis of a multiple club ownership set up you will see more of in the future. The fans of Nice are against the move due to UEFA regulations. So a bit up in the air still, but on going.}

1.) 26 Jun 2023
26 Jun 2023 12:17:04
Thank you SO much Ed002 for the clarity - very much appreciated!

You can understand why SJR wants the Glazers to dilute their voting rights - he’s not paying all that money to give others a say. (Though guess the Glazers still want to interfere in the club - why change a habit! )

Thanks so much again - really appreciate the accessible way you’ve described the situation also.

2.) 26 Jun 2023
26 Jun 2023 14:02:19
This is a great explanation and clears up so much for us. Better than I’ve seen anywhere else. If Raine have recommended Sir Jim’s offer, but Qatar is acceptable too. Are there ongoing discussions over the share conversion issue to see if it can be resolved? Or is it just all final from each party and now up to the glazers based on the info from Raine?

3.) 26 Jun 2023
26 Jun 2023 15:12:45
Great explanation Ed! So much nonsense in the media and everywhere else. Absolutely pointless looking at and reading anything else online when it comes to transfers, and now the takeover. It is all guess work and done to sell papers or get clicks.

This site continues to be the only place we can get actual facts and information. Thank you to all of the Ed’s for all of the hard work, especially Ed002 for answering endless questions and giving us accurate information, even if sometimes it isn’t what some want to hear.

4.) 26 Jun 2023
26 Jun 2023 21:30:58
ED002

Thank you for such great insightful explanation. I know you don't like to get into too much detail but just your opinion on who you believe would be better for the club in terms of fixing things and giving the club a structure to succeed.

{Ed002's Note - I know Jim Ratcliffe well enough to say he would be a great owner. Sheikh Yer Bouti will clear debts and make more money available but the club still need to meet FFP rules.}

5.) 26 Jun 2023
26 Jun 2023 21:58:04
Ed002

Thank you for the opinion and highly appreciated.

6.) 26 Jun 2023
26 Jun 2023 22:17:39
Ed, is it true that the Nice fans don’t like SJR’s ownership of their club? If he would be a great owner of United, why is this not how the Nice fans think of him as their owner? What would be different at United?

Or is it typical football fans expecting too much?

{Ed002's Note - That is not really the issue. The problem is at Nice is that they can get in to the Champions League they will be excluded if Manchester United qualify as expected.}