Qatari group could buy Manchester United

Qatari investors would make an offer for the manchester united Plc in the coming days, people familiar with the matter said, a move that would cement the country’s desire to become a major global player in sports.

The Qatar consortium is preparing to submit an initial offer for the English Premier League soccer club by the end of the week, the people familiar with the matter said. Officials of the sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) are helping with preparations for a bid, said one of the people, who asked not to be named because the information is confidential.

The New York bank Raine Group is advising the owners of Manchester United, the Glazer family in the United States.

Manchester United owners are considering selling the club

Manchester United has been the subject of increasing takeover speculation since last year, when Bloomberg News reported that the Glazer family was willing to sell a stake. So far, only the British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe has officially declared his interest and is working with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. on a potential offering.

Bloomberg News reported in January that state-backed Qatari investors were weighing an investment in Manchester United.

Qatar Sports Investments (QSI)a separate entity from the QIA, already owns the French club Paris Saint-Germain FC. Regulations from Europe’s governing body for soccer, UEFA, have established that teams with the same majority owner cannot compete in the region’s top tournaments, including the Champions League. QSI President, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, is also a member of the UEFA Executive Committeeto adopt its regulations.

Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the ruling emir of Qatar, is a Manchester United fan and is unlikely to want to pass up the chance to own one of the biggest sports brands in the world.

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Deliberations are ongoing and no final decisions have been made on which Qatari entities ultimately raised capital for Manchester United’s bid, the people said. A QIA spokesman declined to comment, while a QSI representative was not immediately available for comment.

Adam Sommerfeld, sports investment specialist at Certus Capital, has estimated that any offer for Manchester United would have to exceed £4 billion ($4.8 billion) for it to be successful. Thus, it would be one of the largest agreements ever related to a sports franchise.

Qatar invested more than US$200 billion during the last decade in the remodeling of the country’s infrastructure to house the FIFA World Cup. In addition to building new stadiums and entire town halls, it also bought sports assets. In addition to the PSG acquisition, QSI has a stake in the Portuguese soccer club SC Braga.