U.S. sports tycoon Malcolm Glazer is still considering a bid for Manchester United but has not made a firm offer after talks with the team's biggest investors broke down, the world's richest soccer club said on Friday.
"The board understands that the Glazer family continues to consider all its options in relation to its shareholding in Manchester United, including the possibility of making an offer," the English premier league team said in a statement.
However, the 126-year-old club said it understood there were currently no talks being held between Glazer and its biggest shareholders Irish race horse owners John Magnier and J.P. McManus -- confirming a Reuters report on Thursday.
Magnier and McManus own a 28.9 percent stake through their investment vehicle Cubic Expression and hold the key to any successful takeover.
A spokesman for Glazer, who owns the Tampa Bay Buccaneers American football team and a 19.2 percent stake in Manchester United, said he remained committed to the club.
"The Glazers think it's a great club and want to see it succeed," he said.
Industry sources had said Glazer was prepared to pay about 300 pence a share for Manchester United, or 787 million pounds ($1.4 billion).
"The (Glazer) offer was fully financed by J.P. Morgan. It was a good offer, a very good price which was above a share price that already had a takeover premium written into it, " said one source close to the talks.
Cubic Expression declined to comment on why the Irish duo decided not to pursue talks with Glazer. "Everything we've done in the last while has been consistent with our commitment as long-term value investors," a source close to Cubic said.
At 1205 GMT, Manchester United shares were down 3.4 percent at 255p, but off an earlier low of 246p.
The shares fell sharply on Thursday after a Reuters report cited sources close to the situation as saying talks between Glazer and the Irish investors had broken down.
Andrew Lee, an industry analyst at brokers Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, said a 300p-per-share offer for Manchester United would be overpaying. A fairer price was between 250 and 260p, but even that was a bit "punchy," he said.
PUT UP OR SHUT UP
A debt-free business with one of the best-known brands globally, Manchester United has been tipped by analysts as a takeover target because of its marketing potential.
But the club's fans are wary of a takeover which could reduce their influence, and have been particularly hostile to Glazer because of reports that he planned to put the club into debt to finance his takeover.
The UK Takeover Panel, a financial regulator for mergers and acquisitions, has been pushing both the Glazer and the Irish camps for clarity about their intentions over Manchester United, industry sources said.
A Takeover Panel official confirmed on Friday that Manchester United was still in a bid situation. One option for the club would be to request the panel to invoke a "put up or shut up" deadline regarding any potential Glazer bid.
But sources said the club might be reluctant to call for such a deadline because it was dealing with its second-biggest shareholder and therefore in a delicate position.
RIVAL OFFER?
Meanwhile, the head of UK brokerage Seymour Pierce plans to push ahead with a restructuring plan for Manchester United despite the deadlock in talks between Glazer and the Irish investors, a source close to the matter told Reuters.
"What we're working on has not changed as a result of the Glazer development," the source said.
Seymour Pierce's Keith Harris, a former chairman of the English Football League, emerged as another potential suitor for the 15-times English soccer champions last week.
Harris has declined to comment, but the source said the restructuring would "take into account the interests of the fans and at the same time understand the interests of the Irish", without providing further details.
Harris was the head of investment banking at HSBC and advised Manchester United when it received an approach from BSkyB in 1998. That bid was blocked by UK regulators in 1999, however.
The source declined to comment on the timing of Harris's restructuring plans, or whether he had approached the club, saying only that an announcement could come soon.
Another source said Magnier and McManus were not in talks with anyone else and that Harris had not made any approach to them over a possible rival bid or restructuring.
(Additional reporting by Jodie Ginsberg in Dublin and Peter Oliver in London)
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