Manchester United supporters are getting to the end of their tether as the demanded sale of their club is taking much longer than expected.
The Manchester United Supporters’ Trust have publicly called out the Glazer family to finalise the potential sale of the club as soon as physically possible.
The exploration of ‘strategic alternatives’ for United began in November when the Glazers – the club’s primary shareholders – announced they were weighing up the idea of selling the club.
Now, five months down the line, the painstakingly long saga overseen by the Raine Group has entered its third round of bidding.
Sheikh Jassim and INEOS owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe are two primary frontrunners as the auction for the club reaches its closing stages, while once-interested Finnish entrepreneur Thomas Zilliacus has bowed out of the race.
The potential of a partial sale has also been discussed with a number of parties, with the latest funder to emerge being the Carlyle Group.
But who are the Carlyle Group, how much are they worth, and what are their intentions with Manchester United? Here’s a profile of the company interested in taking the illustrious English club.
The Carlyle Group are a leading US-based, yet multinational, private equity group. The company specialises in private equity, real assets and private credit.
On this side of the pond in the UK, the Carlyle Group have owned well-known companies including the RAC breakdown recovery service, and taxi service Addison Lee.
“With $373 billion of assets under management as of December 31, 2022, Carlyle’s purpose is to invest wisely and create value on behalf of its investors, portfolio companies and the communities in which we live and invest,” the company’s website states.
Read more on Man Utd’s bidders here
The group was founded in 1987 by William E. Conway Jr., Stephen L. Norris, Daniel A. D’Aniello, David Rubenstein, and Greg Rosenbaum.
D’Aniello, Conway Jr., and Rubenstein remain significant members on the company’s board, with Rutgers University alumni Harvey Schwartz in post as the Chief Executive Officer.
Though it was founded in Washington D.C., its expanding global team consists of more than 2,100 professionals plying their trade in 29 offices across five continents.
“Together, across our firm, our mission is to drive long-term value for our investors, companies, shareholders, people and communities,” they state on their website.
Carlyle are thought to have assets equating to more than $373bn (£298bn) under management, which places them among the world’s largest private equity firms.
The company’s net worth, however, is believed to be around the $11bn mark.
Their aforementioned CEO, Harvey Schwartz, is believed to boast a net worth of around $93m, though the official figure is unsure.
While both Sheikh Jassim and Sir Jim Ratcliffe are looking for a full purchase of the Old Trafford outfit, the Carlyle Group are only interested in acquiring a minority stake but still will provide major investment.
Nevertheless, the intricate details of Carlyle’s proposal, including the structure of the deal and the amount of capital they are willing to invest is yet to be released.
Sky News reported earlier this weekend that Carlyle’s interest is ‘serious’ with discussions having taken place for some time.
For the time being, the company declined to comment on their reported interest in United, but will have until the end of April to make it formal.
Credit: 90min.com
