Manchester United stock gains on report Qatar-backed bidder made 5th and final bid

Shares in legendary British football club Manchester United (NYSE:) rose over 7% in premarket Wednesday after Mail Sport reported the Qatari Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani submitted a new bid earlier this week.

The report notes that the billionaire launched a new bid for MANU and has set a deadline of this Friday for the Glazer family to respond. The bidders “will engage up until Friday,” the report adds. The bid will remain on the table after the deadline but there will be no new negotiations.

If true, this would mark the 5th bid made by a Qatar-based billionaire, who is trying to acquire total control of the club.

Mail Sport was the first to report about Qatari interest in MANU back in February.

According to media reports, Sheikh Jassim has also set aside a significant further sum for investment in infrastructure and recruitment.

Sheikh Jassim is fighting the British petrochemicals billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe for the acquisition of MANU. Unlike Sheikh Jassim, Ratcliffe is thought to want to acquire a majority, controlling stake in the football club.

Some media outlets reported that the Glazer family is looking for as much as £6 billion ($7.48B) to sell its largest asset.