US sports tycoon Malcolm Glazer has again raised his shareholding in Manchester United, the club said today.
English league champions Manchester United said that 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 per cent stake. Earlier this month, he boosted his stake to 8.94 per cent from 5.9 per cent.
Glazer, who recently missed out on buying the baseball team LA Dodgers from News Corp, still owns less of the soccer club than Irish racehorse owners JP McManus and John Magnier, who together hold a 23.15 per cent stake after they bought TV firm BSkyB's 10 per cent.
United, one of the world's richest soccer clubs, has been at the centre of takeover speculation ever since its London-based rival Chelsea was bought by Russian business tycoon Roman Abramovich.
Another big investor whose actions are drawing attention is John de Mol, who increased his stake to 4.1 per cent from 3.5 per cent a day after the BSkyB deal on October 7th.
De Mol, creator of the Big Brotherreality TV series, is the club's fifth-biggest shareholder and ranks behind Scottish mining millionaire Harry Dobson, who holds around 6.5 per cent, and hedge fund Lansdowne Partners with 5.2 per cent.