Subscribe to the BlogA group of financiers - dubbed the "Red Knights" - have met for the first time to discuss taking over Manchester United, BBC Sport understands.
United are owned by the Glazer family, but the club's high level of debt - now at £716.5m - has prompted much unease.
Goldman Sachs economist Jim O'Neill, who was acting in a personal capacity, lawyer Mark Rawlinson and financier Keith Harris were at the meeting.
A spokesman for the Glazers told BBC Sport: "United is not for sale."
However, United's owners are now facing a two-pronged attack over their control of the club with the Manchester United Supporters' Trust (MUST) running a vocal campaign to bring about a change of ownership.