Three Bidders In For Manchester City - 24/04/2007

It may not have the cachet of being supported by the Queen like Arsenal, it has a splendid stadium but it is located in a run down area, and it has been the recent subject of an attack by midfielder Joey Barton for under achievement and the way in which the club is run. Nevertheless, three bidders are apparently interested in acquiring Manchester City, no doubt thinking that it has unfulfilled potential (although that is something that has been said of many clubs). A British-based consortium headed by former player Ray Ranson has launched a £90m takeover bid. Ranson, who was involved in an unsuccessful attempt to buy Aston Villa, lodged his offer with the Eastlands club last night. It has previously been suggested that City would not be interested in doing business with Ranson because they did not want the club saddled with further debt. But Ranson is understood to have enough money to pay off the £25m owed to principal shareholders John Wardle and David Makin and also has plans in place to eventually pay off nearly £40m owed to other creditors.

John Wardle was thought to prefer selling his 29 per cent stake to an unnamed American consortium who were attracted by the East Manchester franchise. The third potential bidder is former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra who was ousted in a military coup but is apparently not short of funds. He made a failed bid to secure a 30 per cent stake in Liverpool three years ago when allegations of corruption and human rights abuses involving his government caused some concern. Rumours suggest that Thaksin would be prepared to make a £92.5m bid involving partners in China and the Middle East. He lives in exile in London and sources in Thailand have claimed that Fulham's owner Mohammed Al Fayed was acting as a front man. It seems likely that it will not be long before City has a new owner, possibly leading to a boost for transfer funds.