Each has made a bid for the real estate company, but so far no offer has been high enough to secure a takeover agreement.
The High Court has allowed the club extra time to either secure a takeover or raise sufficient short-term funds from asset sales, such as first-team players.
Air France-KLM agreed to take on about 900 more employees of Alitalia's ground services unit than planned under a new proposal to secure its takeover of the struggling Italian carrier, according to Reuters.
A tour of AstraZeneca shareholders by the Pfizer chief executive last week left the impression among City institutions that the US group is strongly committed to securing a takeover, a view confirmed by the renewed approach on Sunday night.
However, despite the Italian, who is president of the Serie A side Cagliari, appearing to have secured a takeover and the exit of McDermott, there was no official word on whether a formal sale had been completed.
Under Horta-Osório, a Portuguese Anglophile, Santander won the gratitude of the authorities by securing the takeover of Alliance & Leicester just before the banking crisis reached its peak and by agreeing to take on the savers of part-nationalised Bradford & Bingley.
For in that episode, Lane Pryce financial officer from Putnam Powell and Lowe, the British ad firm that secured a takeover merger of Sterling Cooper in season 2 episode 13, informed Pete Campbell about the decision to make Ken Cosgrove senior vice president in charge of account services.
And Berkshire provided about $3 billion in equity financing to Dow Chemical to help secure its $15.4 billion takeover of fellow chemical maker Rohm & Haas.
From the first discussions in early July to a formal announcement on Aug. 15, Google moved swiftly this summer to secure a $12.5 billion takeover of Motorola Mobility, according to a filing submitted on Tuesday.
The appearance last month of James Murdoch at the inquiry revealed how a senior ministerial aide had repeatedly and inappropriately sought to help Murdoch's News Corp secure the $12 billion takeover of pay-TV group BSkyB.
