Glazer Buys Out Irish Tycoons & Launches Forma Man Utd Takeover

American sports tycoon Malcolm Glazer has launched a formal £790 million takeover bid for Manchester United. In a move that has taken observers by surprise, Glazer has crucially secured the 28.7% stake owned by the Irish horse-racing tycoons JP MacManus and John Magnier. That means he now owns almost 57% of the Premiership club. Red Football Ltd, acting on behalf of Glazer, said the Irishmen had sold their stakes for 300p (£3) a share. The bid comes five days before the 17 May deadline when Glazer had to make it known whether he planned to bid. He is now 18% short of the 75% of shares he needs for the offer to go unconditional. If he gets 75% plus one share, United could be de-listed from the stock exchange and Glazer could transfer his debt onto the club. If he can get to 90% plus one share, he can make a compulsory purchase and scoop up the other 10% of the club’s shares. United’s share price rallied by 34.25 pence to 299.25p shortly after the announcement. A fortnight ago the Manchester United board said it could not recommend Mr Glazer’s takeover proposals to shareholders because his business plan looked too "aggressive". His first two offers were rejected by the board, on the grounds that his plans relied too heavily on borrowed money. "A further announcement containing more detailed terms of the offer will be made shortly," Red Football said in a statement.