An insider connected to the potential sale of Manchester United has explained what the 'put-and-call' clause reportedly contained within Sir Jim Ratcliffe's bid means.
Ratcliffe is one of the leading contenders to complete a takeover of United from the Glazer family, with Qatari businessman Sheikh Jassim - through his Nine Two Foundation - also at the forefront of the race.
The British billionaire has submitted a proposal for majority control of the club, with the Daily Telegraph claiming the bid contains a demand for him to have immediate control of transfers in the period between the bid acceptance and the takeover completion.
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The structure of the proposal is different to that of Sheikh Jassim's. The Qatari businessman submitted his fourth bid on Tuesday, believed to be £5.6 billion (via Ben Jacobs). He only wants a full takeover of United.
Sky News, however, report that Ratcliffe's bid contains a 'put-and-call' clause - and an insider close to the process has explained what that means.
Man Utd insider explains Ratcliffe clause
Speaking to The Athletic, the unnamed insider said: "A put option probably means Joel and Avram can force INEOS to buy their shares at a minimum price at some point in the future - for instance, $30 per share, which protects them from losing money from here.
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"The call option for INEOS probably means they can buy the Glazer shares at a higher price, $45 per share for example, any time before a certain date, say 2026.
"This is a way for Joel and Avram to protect their downside while having a viable path to get out."
The Glazers currently own all of the Class B shares in United, which are worth 10 times more than the Class A shares. As per The Athletic, only Joel and Darcie Glazer own Class A shares - to a figure of 4.38 per cent of the total amount in circulation.
It is reported that, in the current stock offering, the Glazers' Class B shares would automatically convert to Class A, meaning that Ratcliffe would need to agree with the family that their B shares would not convert in order to take majority control.
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