Elliott Management has reportedly joined Qatari Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani and Sir Jim Ratcliffe's INEOS Group in making it through to the second stage of the Manchester United takeover process, according to Sky Sports.
The Florida-based hedge fund is said to have submitted a 'proposal for financing' that is 'open to all parties'. As was widely reported when their initial interest first emerged in February, they have no intention of owning the club outright despite attending Old Trafford for Thursday night's Europa League round of 16 first leg against Real Betis.
But what does a hedge fund want with United? The Manchester Evening News has profiled Elliott in the hope of explaining all.
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Who are they?
Elliott, which was founded by Paul Singer in January 1977, describes themselves as 'one of the oldest fund managers of its kind under continuous management'. The company took their name from Singer, whose middle name is Elliott, and the 78-year-old remains its president and co-chief executive.
The company's website states that they manage approximately $55.7 billion in assets as of June last year. Elliott also employs almost 500 people.
What are they invested in?
Perhaps their most notable asset in the United Kingdom is Waterstones, having been the book retailer's majority stakeholder since 2018. The hedge fund also expanded its bookstore portfolio by purchasing Blackwell's last year.
They also held significant shares in Twitter and even nominated three directors to the social network's board back in 2020. Elliott sold their shares two years later after now-owner Elon Musk made his ultimately successful proposal to acquire Twitter.
What do they know about football?
Well, up until last summer, they owned Italian giants AC Milan. They officially took over in 2018 after the previous owner Li Yonghong defaulted on a debt to the hedge fund.
Over the next four years, Elliott stabilised the club by implanting equity capital, and last season Milan won Serie A for the first time in over a decade. Mere weeks later, Singer and company sold the club to the American investment firm RedBird Capital Partners, who are also the majority owners of French club Toulouse and have a stake in Liverpool through their investment in ownership group Fenway Sports Group, but Elliott retain a minority stake.
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