US billionaire Malcolm Glazer has until May 17th to declare whether he intends to bid for Manchester United plc.

The Takeover Panel of the London Stock Exchange yesterday ruled that Mr Glazer's company, the Glazer Family Partnership, must say whether it intends to make a formal offer for the football club by 12 noon on May 17th.

If the Glazer partnership declares that it will not make an offer, the panel will bar it from making a new offer for at least six months.

The panel said it set the deadline in response to representations from the club's board.

The board has been in talks with Mr Glazer's representatives for two weeks in relation to his proposed €4.35-a-share offer for the club, which values it at €1.1 billion.

Manchester United's board yesterday announced that it will not recommend Glazer's offer for the world's richest soccer club, but said that it should go to shareholders. The markets widely anticipated the statement.

The board said it was concerned at the level of debt, estimated at €430 million, that the business would carry on its books as a result of a takeover by Glazer. Its cashflow would be used to pay this off, limiting scope for other investments.

"The board remains of the view that the assumptions in the Glazer business plan are aggressive," the statement said.

"Furthermore, the board believes that the proposed capital structure, taken as a whole, still contains more leverage than the board would consider prudent and that, as a consequence, there is likely to be significant financial strain on the business."

But the statement adds that the price is a fair one and may be attractive to some shareholders.

Mr Glazer must also get the support of the biggest shareholder, Cubic Expression, jointly owned by Irishmen John Magnier and JP McManus, which controls 28.89 per cent of the business.

He was widely expected to approach the duo this week, but has not done so.