'Accept £800m or I walk away': Glazer to put Man Utd on spot

Malcolm Glazer, the US sports tycoon, will make his £800m bid for Manchester United this week, having put the final touches to the financing over the weekend.

The owner of American football team the Tampa Bay Buccaneers has been in touch with the two Irish racehorse owners who jointly hold 28.9 per cent of Man Utd's shares, and will make his formal offer to them during the week.

It is expected that he will bid 300p a share, the amount he has been indicating he will offer for some weeks. Mr Glazer will also make it clear this is his final offer, and that if it is not accepted he will walk away.

The Irish duo, JP McManus and John Magnier, have indicated that they are looking for more than 300p a share. Talks between the two sides are expected to be tough.

Mr Glazer has been stalking Man Utd for over a year, building a 28 per cent stake in the club and, last year, forcing three directors off the company's board because of their opposition to his bid.

Since then, Man Utd's board has softened its stance and has allowed Mr Glazer and his backers, NM Rothschild and JP Morgan, access to its books so they can make a firm offer.

However, when an indicative bid was placed before the club, the board rejected it due to the level of debt in Mr Glazer's bid, which the board claimed could be bad for the club's stability.

The Takeover Panel, the City regulator, set a deadline of 17 May for Mr Glazer to put in a firm offer, or else he would be prevented from bidding for six months.

It is understood he will easily beat that deadline.

Man Utd fans have said they will raise funds to buy the McManus and Magnier stake, with help from Japanese bank Nomura. However, protests against the takeover, scheduled for Man Utd's home game against West Bromwich Albion yesterday, were cancelled due to a lack of support.