A spokesman for the Qatari banker, Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani, confirmed, on Sunday, that the American bank “Bank of America” was chosen to be one of the advisors in the deal to buy Manchester United Football Club, thus joining a number of investment banks and investors participating in the race to acquire the club. The famous, according to the American “Bloomberg” network.
Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani, 42, is the son of former Qatari Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr Al Thani between 2007 and 2013, and presides over what some consider the main offer to buy “Manchester United”, currently owned by the American Glazer family, by about 5 billion pounds ($6 billion), according to “Bloomberg” and the British newspaper “The Telegraph”.
Sheikh Jassim, who is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Qatar Islamic Bank and a former member of the Board of Directors of the “Credit Suisse Group”, confirmed his desire to acquire the English Premier League club, on Friday, in an e-mail statement.
The Qatari offer will face competition from British billionaire owner of the petrochemical group Ineos, Jim Ratcliffe, who has already secured financing from several banks, including the US Goldman Sachs Group. His group already owns French clubs Nice and Swiss Lausanne, according to the Telegraph.
Billionaire Paul Singer, through his American company, Elliott Management, also made an offer to help fund the club’s bids and not to buy the club itself, according to a person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.
Forbes magazine estimates Sheikh Jassim’s net worth at $1.3 billion, making him one of the most wealthy in the Gulf emirate.