Man Utd 'terminate' talks with US tycoon

Manchester United has terminated talks with Malcolm Glazer after the US billionaire upped his stake in the club last week.

In a statement, the board said that it regarded Mr Glazer's position to be "overly leveraged" – or too dependent on borrowed money – and so it was "not in the best interests of the company" to continue talks.

According to the club's in-house broadcast channel, MUTV, the board felt that the level of debt, coupled with the business plan, meant Glazer's was an "unattractive proposal".

Mr Glazer has not yet made any definitive proposal, but a takeover bid is required to be launched when a 30% stakeholding is reached. He currently holds a 28.11% stake in the club, a holding of 73,711,458 ordinary shares.

However, discussions with Mr Glazer and other interested shareholders will continue in order to "seek to develop a long term solution that brings stability to the company's ownership structure".

Chief executive David Gill was keen to point to out that there was no personal issue with Mr Glazer, talks had foundered over finance issues.

However, Mr Gill acknowledged that the interest from Mr Glazer had been "disruptive". "As a distraction, this can’t be helpful and we want to move forward," he said.

For the fans, Mr Gill said that they should understand that the board had to consider any bona fide proposal for the company.

Assessing its current circumstances, the board said that Manchester United was in a strong position.

The club's "present capital structure is appropriate and gives it a distinct competitive advantage to pursue commercial opportunities as they arise and invest to sustain the playing success", the board said.

(gmcg/sp)