(Reuters) – Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani, the son of Qatar’s former prime minister, is set to lodge an improved third bid of less than 5 billion pounds ($6.28 billion) for English soccer club Manchester United by Friday’s deadline, The Guardian reported.
The Qatari banker is intent on buying 100% of the club and his bid falls short of the 6 billion pounds asking price set by current owners, the Glazer family, the report added.
The club declined to comment on the report when contacted by Reuters.
A small portion of the club’s shares is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The company’s market value was about $3.4 billion, as of Thursday’s close.
In March, Reuters reported that Sheikh Jassim had submitted a second bid to buy the club. The founder of chemicals producer INEOS, Jim Ratcliffe, also put in a bid for the club in February.
Any sale of the club would likely exceed the biggest sports deal so far – the $5.2 billion including debt and investments paid for Chelsea – sources had told Reuters previously.
($1 = 0.7957 pounds)
(Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
