US sports tycoon Malcolm Glazer raised his stake in English soccer champions Manchester United today, heightening speculation he was planning a bid for one of the world's richest football clubs.
Mr Glazer, owner of American football team the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, said in a statement he had bought a further one million shares in the club at 265 pence each raising his stake to 16.69 per cent from 16.3 per cent previously.
Last week, 75-year-old Mr Glazer said he was keeping his options open over his Manchester United stake. Mr Glazer is the club's second-biggest shareholder and has said he is an enthusiastic supporter of the 125-year-old club and was building his stake for "investment purposes".
By mid-morning, Manchester United shares, which have doubled in the past year, partly on persistent bid speculation, rose 1.1 per cent to 266p, valuing the winner of 15 English championships at around £700 million.
If Glazer decides to bid then one of the keys will be the reaction of the club's biggest investors, Irish race horse owners Mr John Magnier and Mr J.P. McManus, who earlier this month raised their stake to 28.9 per cent, near the 30 per cent level at which they would be obliged by UK law to make a full takeover offer.
Sources close to Mr Magnier and Mr McManus, who have questioned the club's player transfer policy, have declined to say whether they might be drawn into a bid. Bloodstock baron Mr Magnier is also in a dispute with United manager Mr Alex Ferguson over the stud rights to racehorse Rock of Gibraltar.