Shares of Manchester United (NYSE:MANU) are up about 23% in the pre-market session on Tuesday. The spike in the shares of this professional football club can be attributed to a media report disclosing the acceptance of an acquisition offer from Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani, a billionaire from Qatar.
Qatar’s Al-Watan newspaper reported that Sheikh Jassim would soon be announced as the preferred bidder for the famous football club. It is worth noting that the newspaper is co-owned by Sheikh Jassim’s father, Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani.
A deal could follow after several months of negotiations with Sheikh Jassim and Sir Jim Ratcliffe, a British billionaire. Earlier, Sheikh Jassim upped his bid to buy the Premier League club. Reports suggested that the improved and final bid eclipsed the earlier offer of $6.3 billion.
While Sheikh Jassim was bidding for complete control of the club, Sir Jim Ratcliffe sought majority control.
MANU stock has gained about 74% over the past year. Most of the gains came after the Glazer family (the current owners of MANU) confirmed in November 2022 that they were exploring strategic options, including a sale of the club.
However, valuation concerns weighed on the prices of MANU. It has underperformed the broader markets and is down about 14% year-to-date.
Its revenues have remained muted in the first six months of Fiscal 2023. Further, MANU has reported a loss during the same period.
