HERE WE GO AGAIN

Last updated : 21 October 2003 By editor

U.S. sports tycoon Malcolm Glazer has again raised his share holding in Manchester United as a high stakes poker game unfolds among top investors in the Premiership champions.

United said Glazer, owner of American Super Bowl champions the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, had increased his stake in the company to 25.22 million shares, or a 9.66 percent stake.

Glazer, who recently missed out on buying the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team from Rupert Murdoch's News Corp media empire, still owns less of United than Irish racehorse owners John Paul McManus and John Magnier, who have a 23.15 percent stake after they bought British pay TV firm BSkyB's 10 percent.

United's shares, which have risen by more than 120 percent this year, lifted in part by takeover speculation, were little changed by the news of Glazer's moves.