Amazon’s response to Man Utd takeover interest and rivals explained
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Last month, the Glazers put Manchester United up for sale – less than a fortnight after a brutal interview from Cristiano Ronaldo, where they were criticised for their failure to improve the club. And, today, it has emerged Amazon are interested in purchasing the Red Devils. Express Sport will now take a look at the situation and where things are currently at when it comes to a change of ownership at Old Trafford.
Amazon’s response
The Athletic claimed that United are of interest to Amazon earlier today.
However, the retailers have also moved to play down talk of a takeover with a response to the claims by saying: “Amazon declined to comment on rumour and speculation.”
Obviously, they’re not going to put all their cards on the table just yet. Expressing an interest, publicly, would have big consequences.
It would leave Amazon open to embarrassment in case a takeover failed to materialise, while it would also potentially trigger rivals into going all guns blazing.
Not too much should be read into their statement at the current moment in time as a result.
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Rival No 1: Mukesh Ambani
The report mentions Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani as a potential next buyer of United.
According to Forbes, he is the 10th richest person on the planet. And there’s a sense that, sooner or later, a billionaire from that area of the world will come calling for United.
Simon Chadwick, a professor of sport and geopolitical economy at the SKEMA Business School, was quoted as saying: “There is an increasing appetite in India for non-cricket investment opportunities in sport.”
Yet there is one caveat.
His son, Akash, is reportedly an Arsenal fan. And that’s the club they’d be most interested in, should the chance of a takeover arise.
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Rival 2: Sir Jim Ratcliffe
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has long been a United fan and has previously spoken out on the possibility of acquiring the Red Devils in the past.
He would arguably be the most-popular pick given how he cares for the fallen giants.
But while there’s a suggestion he bid for United back in the summer, the finances involved could be too high even for a man of his immense wealth.
The Glazers may demand as much as £7billion to sell the club, after 17 years of controversial rule.
Ratcliffe would then potentially have to join a consortium but getting the ‘balance’ of individuals right would apparently be a ‘delicate task’.
A consortium led by Stephen Pagliuca, and another group chaired by Sir Martin Broughton, could enter the running as well.
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Who is out of the running?
Several people have played down talk of buying United, with Zara owner Amancio Ortega one of them.
He said: “Pontegadea, investment and asset management company of the Ortega family, denies the existence of signs of interest in the acquisition of the Manchester United club.”
It’s a similar story when it comes to Qatar, too.
The state already own Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain and buying United, on top of this, would represent a conflict of interests.
Apple also aren’t in the mix right now, despite interest in United previously being talked up.
What have the Glazers said?
Last month, the Glazers released a statement saying they were open to offers for United.
“The strength of Manchester United rests on the passion and loyalty of our global community of 1.1 billion fans and followers,” they said.
“As we seek to continue building on the Club’s history of success, the Board has authorised a thorough evaluation of strategic alternatives.
“We will evaluate all options to ensure that we best serve our fans and that Manchester United maximises the significant growth opportunities available to the Club today and in the future.
“Throughout this process we will remain fully focused on serving the best interests of our fans, shareholders, and various stakeholders.”
And Avram Glazer said shortly afterwards: “As we announced yesterday, the board went through a process and decided it’s going to look at different strategic alternatives – and that’s what we’re doing. We’ll see where that leads us.”
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