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The billionaire Malcolm Glazer is the goal in the final months of the wrath of fans of English football team Manchester United. Glazer, who has been getting progressively with the actions of the biggest club in the world by revenue, already owns 97.3% of the group. All this, with opposition supporters who are wary of U.S. intentions. The new owner has plans to triple the group's operating profit in five years, which will lead to a rise in ticket prices. Manchester fans returned yesterday to express his displeasure with the Glazer takeover on his team and said that eventually forced the billionaire to leave the club in three years, reports Bloomberg. Among other measures, have agreed to stop buying products from sponsors like Vodafone and Nike. They have also created a fund called the Phoenix Fund, seeking to raise enough money to buy the club to Glazer, who has spent 1,160 million euros for the acquisition. But this son of a humble family of Lithuanian Jewish immigrants has never been concerned about public opinion when it comes to doing business. And the first thing done after taking the control is put on the board of the club to three of his sons, Avram (44), Bryan (40) and Joel (38), the latter is also chairman. The other three offspring of Malcolm Glazer (Ed, Kevin and Darcia) also work in dad's business in sectors ranging from sports to real estate investment. The family owns First Allied property empire, which includes a massive shopping center and apartments, worth about 500 million euros. When the patriarch bought in 1995 the deficit football team Tampa Bay Buccaneers for 160 million euros, also put in front of the group to Joel Glazer, who was then only 28 years. Joel drove the team and in 2003 won the Super Bowl. According to Forbes magazine, the club has quadrupled in value to 640 million euros, since the family gained control. One of the most controversial investments of the family was the Zapata Corporation, a joint oil and gas extraction founded in 1953 by former President George H. W. Bush, who named it for the film Viva Zapata, "starring Marlon Brando. Malcolm Glazer used a similar strategy to that followed with the purchase of Manchester and began to acquire blocks of shares in 1990 until 1994 he and his family were made with 51.3% of the firm. Under the mandate of Glazer, the company abandoned oil and gas business and became the largest producer of oil and fish protein with Omega Protein, which is used for human food and animal feed. Avram Glazer was named president and CEO of the firm in 1995. In 2004 the magazine Business Week reported that Zapata and its subsidiary, Omega Protein, were being investigated by securities regulators from the USA (SEC) on unexplained surge in the price of shares. Movements occurred while the Glazer family bought shares of Manchester United. So far everything has been suspicion and Avram Glazer has dismissed suggestions that the group could be involved in market manipulation. Malcolm Glazer, 74, is ranked among the 244 richest Americans by Forbes magazine, with a net worth estimated at 755 million euros. --------> It's created Jill Glazer Malcolm Glazer: Watchmaker, adventurous and discussed The tycoon, unable to accept a 'no' for an answer, has realized the American dream It's the worst nightmare for any fan: belonging to a historic club, dear, a club that wins a lot of money and suddenly someone comes out-in this case the U.S., and buy it. At the time, that Manchester United came out on the stock exchange was a great idea. The money came Sir Alex Ferguson allowed to build a team that won it all. But unfortunately, if you get to swim with sharks, occasionally suffer a bite. And that happened to United. However, the emergence of Malcolm Glazer on the scene was more like a snake that a great white shark. There was a surprise attack, but a game slow, calculated, but in the end successfully when he had squeezed the life of their rivals. In March 2003, Glazer, bought 2.9% stake in the club and that hardly anyone noticed. Remained in the dark for a year. Then, in March 2004, said he had "no intention to make an offer to buy the club." Only three months later the U.S. had 20% of the shares in his pocket, and in October the same year, and 30% of the shares under their control, United said yes to an offer he had received. Glazer has shown throughout his life he has patience, but also a tough side and without mercy. It is a business man pure and simple. Born to Lithuanian parents in 1928, a year before the fall of the marking of Wall Street, he spent his formative years in Rochester, a small town near the Canadian border. His father owned a watch shop and when he died in 1943, Malcolm took over the business and began a long period of expansion. Through smart investments gradually built an empire with interests in the world of restaurants, television, supermarkets and real estate. In 1984 he made his first attempt to buy a big company, Ferrovial bidding for Conrail, which was worth about $ 7.6 trillion. He was unsuccessful in his adventure, but a tactic that would be important in the future, Glazer only put $ 100 million pocket on the table. The rest would come from loans. Four years earlier had shown its darker side taking her five sisters to court in a dispute over the testimony of his mother ... Once acquired a taste for the tender offer, Glazer showed interest in brands, trying unsuccessfully to buy the maker of kitchen-Formica-and also an American icon, Harley-Davidson. However, it was in the world of sports in which Glazer would be really famous. In 1995 he bought a team in the NFL (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) for $ 192 million. Soon fired the coach and the team would go years without titles. When fans showed their anger, Glazer had two answers. The first was threatening to move the team to another city and pay the second $ 8 million to sign Jon Gruden, coach of the Oakland Raiders. The second option was correct because that same year, 2003, the Buccaneers won the Superbowl. Glazier, then, was already working to take control of Manchester United and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Only succeed in the first goal. Perhaps the idea of entering the world of football came from his son Joel, one of his six children, who confesses to a 'football crazy' after sharing a flat with a Tottenham fan. It seemed that the negotiations had reached an impasse, but a moment of revenge has opened the way to Glazer. Two Irish J.P. McManus and John Magnier, had a 28.89% stake. Glazer fighting to take control of the club, until a dispute between Magnier and hitherto his friend Sir Alex Ferguson on the rights of a horse Rock of Gibraltar-destroyed that friendship. Shortly after Glazer bought out the Irish and the road was opened to take full control of the club, remove it from the bag and say: "Manchester United is mine." The value of United on June 28, 2005 was approximately 800 million pounds. The arrival of American clan caused a big anger among some fans who formed their own club, FC United of Manchester. Today, FC United will gradually, up positions in semipro leagues. One thing is very clear is that Glazer is not a Roman Abramovich. For starters, do not have as much money as Russian. In fact, the play that gave the club also left Manchester with a troubling legacy. Glazer needed a loan to finance the purchase and then transferred much of that debt to the club. Manchester now has to face a debt of 660 million pounds, the interest on that money are about 60 million pounds annually. A rise in the price of fertilizers was a sign of what was in store for the fans. There were rumors that the club would be forced to sell their star Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo and that there was no more money for signings. But that was not the case. The club has signed lucrative deals with Nike and the U.S. company AIG. Sir Alex is still in charge of the club, get big signings like Hargreaves, Carrick, Nani and Anderson and Real Madrid still has not bought into Portuguese ... And if the Buccaneers are a mirror, things go well, because the football team now has a new field. Glazer suffered a minor stroke in 2006, but recovered, remains in shadow. His sons Joel, Grant and Avran work closely with chief executive David Gil in the day to day, while two more sons, Kevin and Edward and daughter Darcie are also among the staff. Now the club is working to seek revenues worldwide and protest against Glazer have fallen ... There's nothing like success to close mouths, and above all, although the Manchester owe money, Glazer's interest is making money. |
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