Shinawatra makes formal bid

Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has made a
formal bid to take over English soccer club Manchester City, his spokesman said
on Saturday.
"What I can say now is we have tendered a bid for the team,"
Thaksin's lawyer Noppadon Pattama told Reuters by telephone.
Thaksin, who has
not returned to Thailand since a bloodless military putsch in September, made an
indicative proposal to Manchester City earlier this month but no further details
have been released since.
"We had to be silent because we had to follow the
stock regulations as we are trying to buy a listed company," said Noppadon.
A
leading Thai newspaper said on Saturday that a 100 million- pound deal had
already been reached, but Noppadon said this was premature.
"The deal is not
formally or legally concluded yet," he said when asked to comment on the Thai
Rath report.
The report also said billionaire telecoms tycoon Thaksin would
become club chairman and that he wanted to bring in former Chelsea coach Claudio
Ranieri to replace sacked manager Stuart Pearce.