Be careful what you wish for. Glazer could be bad for the entire EPL. I found this on soccernet.com a few weeks ago.
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Glazer could destroy TV negotiations
Malcolm Glazer could try to rip up the Premier League's collective bargaining agreement if he succeeds in his attempt to takeover Manchester United. The Old Trafford club are currently studying `definitive proposals' from the 76-year-old American business tycoon which could lead to a formal bid.
After already having two approaches rebuffed, Glazer's third move confirms his determination to seize control at United in the belief he is capable of generating even greater profits than the record sums the Red Devils currently make.
But, with income from UK markets reaching its peak, a leading soccer finance expert reckons the only way Glazer can achieve his aim is by targeting the Far East and United States, with particular emphasis on pay-TV.
'I would imagine Manchester United has more or less reached its full potential within the UK market,' said Joe McLean, football specialist and partner at accountancy giants Grant Thornton.
'Obviously, they will be able to generate more in gate receipts from the impending stadium expansion but there is a limit to the number of shirts and other merchandise you can sell within your home market.
'Presumably, what Glazer is looking towards is major expansion in the Far East and the United States and there is a serious possibility he could be right.
'Around the world there are around 250 million people who have heard about, or expressed some interest in Manchester United. That figure alone suggests there is an untapped market, the question is how do you get into it.
'Undoubtedly, pay-TV is one of the answers.'
Currently, the Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore is responsible for negotiating both domestic and overseas contracts, with each member club receiving a proportion of the income.
For the domestic deals with BSkyB and BBC, 50 per cent of the revenue is allocated equally to each club, 25 per cent is paid out in `facility fees' to clubs appearing on TV, with the remaining 25 per cent divided up into merit payments for league position.
However, the entire sum generated from the overseas contracts is divided into five per cent chunks for each club, and it is this area McLean believes Glazer will be most interested in.
'The Premier League already has a problem in that the European Commission will not sanction a similar TV deal to the one currently in place,' he said. 'That is almost certain to mean a drop in revenue which the big clubs are hardly likely to willingly accept because they are trying to compete against major rivals across Europe.
'So, if he is ruling out things like sale and lease-back of the stadium, that may be an area Glazer is looking at.'
The obvious problem for Glazer is that he would require another 13 like-minded clubs to side with him in order to scrap the collective agreement, which seems unlikely given United are still the most glamorous and popular club in the Premier League, ensuring most of the remainder receive more cash than they could hope to collect on their own.
If the Tampa Bay Buccaneers owner has thought of a way round this tricky problem, he hasn't made it public and is instead waiting to hear what United chief executive David Gill and the remainder of the board Glazer culled at the club's annual general meeting in October make of his proposals, which they publicly confirmed yesterday to the surprise of the American's advisers.
Shares rose almost five per cent on the news even though United officials have refused to state when they expect to respond.
However, with Gill in Geneva on club business today, an early announcement seems unlikely.
Angry supporters, seething that Glazer made his move on the 47th anniversary of the Munich air disaster, are placing themselves on a war footing, although it could take weeks before an actual deal is put together.
Given Gill has refused to let Glazer check United's accounts and carry out due diligence, even if the new plans were deemed acceptable to proceed with a formal bid, financiers from Rothschild and JP Morgan, who are both believed to be backing Glazer, would have to pour over the books with intense scrutiny to make sure the American's own figures stack up.
After that, Glazer could make his official approach, by which time, Irish racing duo John Magnier and JP McManus will have decided whether they are willing to sell their 28.9 per cent stake, without which the American could not carry out his plans anyway.
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