Malcolm Glazer, owner and president of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers American football club, has emerged as the latest high-profile shareholder of Manchester United.
Mr Glazer has spent about £9 million (€13.15 million) building up a 2.9 per cent stake in the Premiership club, just below the 3 per cent holding that would have triggered a stock exchange announcement.
His unmasking came just days after it emerged that Mr John de Mol, the Dutch tycoon behind the Big Brother reality television series, had built a similar stake.
However, it is not thought either of the men are interested in launching a takeover bid for the Old Trafford club, either individually or in concert with a trio of Irish entrepreneurs Mr JP McManus, Mr John Magnier and Mr Dermot Desmond who collectively own 10.1 per cent of the stock.
"I don't think any of these guys would come in and buy the club; they are building up stakes as a value proposition," said one person close to Manchester United.
Mr de Mol, the chairman of Endemol, is understood to have met United representatives during a roadshow aimed at potential investors, suggesting his intentions are unlikely to be hostile.
Mr Glazer has proved a successful sports investor. He bought the Buccaneers for a reported $192 million (€180 million) in 1995 after making his money in property, television and restaurants.
After the club's Super Bowl win in January, US press reports valued the business as high as $800 million.
Manchester United is currently valued at £294 million a far cry from early in 2000 when the club was briefly worth £1 billion.
BSkyB, the pay TV operator, remains Manchester United's largest shareholder, with a 9.99 per cent stake, with UBS and Hargreaves Lansdown each holding more than 5 per cent. - (Financial Times Service)
