This from The Guardian about, yes, a United take-over bid.
Speculation about a possible take-over bid for Manchester United mounted in the City last night after Malcolm Glazer, the wealthy owner of an American football team, admitted he had built a 3% stake in the club.
Glazer, who owns the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, is not thought to have had any direct contact with United, who are rumoured to be under the threat of a takeover by a wealthy private investor.
Under City rules, any investor who owns more than 3% of a company's shares must declare his holding to the stock market. Until yesterday, Glazer - who owns the shares through the Malcolm I Glazer Family Limited Partnership - had stayed below this threshold.
United are currently worth around £500m on the stock market. The Manchester United share price has risen to levels last seen more than two years ago amid frenzied speculation about a takeover. They ended trading yesterday at 195.5p.
The share price rise began in July, sparked by the surprise takeover of Chelsea by the Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich which led to talk that other wealthy individuals would want to take over top English football clubs.
The speculation heightened after Abramovich lured Manchester United's chief executive Peter Kenyon to Chelsea, although United have denied to the stock market that they have received any offers.
If any deal is to be struck, it would need the support of the existing major shareholders. Some 11% of the club is owned by the Irish businessmen John Magnier and JP McManus through the investment vehicle Cubic Expression, while the broadcaster BSkyB owns 10%.
According to the Glazer's family's foundation website, he is a "true American success story". He started his working life in his father's watch-parts business at the age of eight and at 15 took the business over when his father died. He bought the struggling Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1995 and the team won the Super Bowl last year.