US firm Sixth Street has indicated it may be ready to take a stake in Manchester United, just months after the club's owners revealed they were exploring the possibility of entertaining investors.
Current owners the Glazer family revealed in November that they were exploring strategic alternatives which could involve a full sale. Britain's richest man Jim Ratcliffe is among those preparing a bid for the club, with the Glazers holding out for more than £5bn.
Sixth Street have previously been involved in refinancing projects with both Real Madrid and Barcelona, taking a stake in the latter's LaLigaTV income in 2022. However, if the group ends up taking a minority stake rather than pushing for a full-on-takeover - as has been reported - it might not impact Ratcliffe's plans for a takeover.
According to The Telegraph, Sixth Street has requested details of United's financial performance ahead of potential investment. The firm immediately put out a statement on Wednesday night denying interest at the moment, though they hinted that they are always exploring investments.
The statement read: "As part of our sports investing franchise, Sixth Street maintains active dialogues with top organisations across multiple sports and around the world. But at this time Sixth Street is not looking to buy Manchester United and is not in any active discussions to do so."
Their Barcelona and Real Madrid investments are worth a combined €867.5m, and relate to separate refinancing matters. Two separate payments worth a combined €507.5m have allowed the group to take 25% of Barca's LaLigaTV income for a period of 25 years. Their €360m deal with Real Madrid, meanwhile, sees them operate businesses out of Stadio Bernabeu for a 20-year period.
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Sixth Street are reportedly among a number of parties to have requested financial performance details, with the Telegraph reporting that multiple interested groups - predominantly private equity funds from the United States - have reached the same preliminary stage as Ratcliffe. Potential investors were previously instructed to provide formal proposals by mid-February.
Sixth Street's interest comes after Ratcliffe made his stance clear. "We have formally put ourselves into the process," a spokesman for the INEOS chairman told The Times.
Back in November, Manchester United detailed initial steps in the sale process. "Manchester United plc, one of the most successful and historic sports clubs in the world, announces today that the Company’s Board of Directors is commencing a process to explore strategic alternatives for the club," a statement read at the time.
"The process is designed to enhance the club's future growth, with the ultimate goal of positioning the club to capitalise on opportunities both on the pitch and commercially.
"As part of this process, the Board will consider all strategic alternatives, including new investment into the club, a sale, or other transactions involving the Company. This will include an assessment of several initiatives to strengthen the club, including stadium and infrastructure redevelopment, and expansion of the club’s commercial operations on a global scale, each in the context of enhancing the long-term success of the club’s men’s, women’s and academy teams, and bringing benefits to fans and other stakeholders.
