United shares slip 2% amid Glazer uncertainty
Manchester United’s shares dropped by two per cent at the start of trading this morning as the Old Trafford club awaited Malcolm Glazer’s next move in his takeover battle.
The dip from 285.5p to 280p was the first reaction to Friday’s momentous events when Glazer blocked the re-election of three members of the United board and then lost his backers JP Morgan in retaliation at the move.
Glazer is believed to be attempting to secure alternative funding so he can pursue a hostile approach, although there is mounting speculation that Red Devils chief executive David Gill may try to force the issue by asking the UK's Takeover Panel to deliver a "put up or shut up" notice to Glazer.
Such a move would give Glazer a set amount of time in which to confirm his immediate takeover intentions. If he was not in a position to launch a bid, he would be precluded from doing so for a further six months.
Glazer is sure to regard such a move as antagonistic, causing a further freeze to already frosty relations between Gill and what remains of the devastated United hierarchy.
However, Gill is increasingly coming to the conclusion that the current position is not good for the club and cannot be maintained, and it would be better for all concerned if the situation was clarified.
The move would also have the added benefit of allowing Gill to continue his present stance of refusing to provide the "confidential information" Glazer has requested prior to a bid being launched.
“There is no obligation for them to show any information,” confirmed Michael Shaw, a partner with London-based legal experts Herbert Smith and a former member of the Takeover Panel.
“As long as Manchester United show their business is being damaged, I would expect the Takeover Panel to make a put up or shut up order.”
