US tycoon expected to emerge as Man Utd bidder

The American tycoon Malcolm Glazer is expected to be unmasked today as the investor who snapped up a 4.5 per cent stake in Manchester United on Friday.

Mr Glazer, who has a reputation as a highly secretive businessman, has not made clear his intentions towards the Premier League club, despite meeting David Gill, the chief executive of Manchester United, in the United States within the past two weeks.

But there is intense speculation that shares bought at the end of last week, which would have taken Mr Glazer's stake to just below 15 per cent, were in preparation for a bid for the company at about 300p a share.

That would be a significant premium to the 265p Mr Glazer is believed to have paid for his slug of shares at the end of last week and to the closing share price on Friday of 263p.

If the wealthy American, who owns the Florida football team the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, does decide to bid, he would have to win the backing of Irish racehorse owners JP McManus and John Magnier. The two are Manchester United's largest shareholders, with 23 per cent between them.

While Mr McManus and Mr Magnier were thought at one stage to want to take control of the board themselves, they are now considered to be willing to sell their shares. If they received 300p from Mr Glazer, they would have doubled their money on their investment in the football club.

Stock exchange rules dictate that the buyer of the shares on Friday must declare themselves to Manchester United by the time the market closes this evening.

That will be followed by an announcement to the stock exchange by Manchester United. The club hopes to reveal the identity of the buyer as soon as possible, following fevered speculation about a possible bid in the past few days.

Mr Glazer, who took one of his sons to the meeting with Mr Gill, said he regarded his stake in Manchester United as a "value investment", according to a club spokesman.

The company is keen to have another meeting with Mr Glazer to establish what his intentions are, although that plan might be overtaken by him putting a bid on the table.

Manchester United shares have shot up in the past few months on expectations that the team would, like its rival Chelsea, be taken private by a wealthy businessman.

Chelsea was bought by the Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich in July.