US billionaire Mr Malcolm Glazer is likely to stay in the hunt for Manchester United plc, according to City of London sources, who said yesterday that he could seek a new backer. Barry O'Halloran reports.
His bid to buy soccer's richest club was thrown into chaos at the weekend when his backer, US bank JP Morgan Chase, walked away after his company, the Glazer Family Partnership, blocked the election of three directors to the Manchester United board after its annual general meeting on Friday.
One source said last night that Mr Glazer would "try to reconstitute his bid".
As he needs to borrow in the region of €700 million to buy the 77.9 per cent of the company that he does not own, he will have to recruit new finance.
There was a suggestion yesterday that he may turn to Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB), which bought Manchester United shares on his behalf last month.
The US businessman, who owns American football team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, has spent an estimated €265 million building up his 28.11 per cent holding in Manchester United.
One observer also argued that Mr Glazer would have known that the decision to vote against the board on Friday would result in the bank walking away, and could already be close to lining up alternative finance. "You can be sure that he's thought this out," he said.
Reports yesterday also suggested that there had always been a possibility of JP Morgan and Mr Glazer parting company since the bank announced a joint-venture deal with Manchester United's adviser, Cazenove recently.
Mr Glazer's action on Friday was seen as an attempt to use his muscle to force the company's board to allow him to conduct a due diligence examination of the company's books.
The board had refused him this access after ending talks with him about a £3 a share offer for the company, valuing it at €1.1 billion, last month.
He had made due diligence a condition of paying £3 a share for the 28.89 per cent stake that racing and bloodstock supremos Mr John Magnier and Mr JP McManus hold through Cubic Expression.
Mr Glazer needs this stake if his efforts to take control of the company are to succeed.
The pair abstained from voting on Friday.
Manchester United's share price dropped 7.25 pence to close at 278.25 pence yesterday.
