Several reports claim Sir Jim Ratcliffe is set to buy a 25 percent stake in Manchester United this week.
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Per a report from our partners in the UK at Sky Sports News, an offer of $1.58 billion for a 25 percent stake of the club is on the table from INEOS owner Ratcliffe, as reports state the petrochemical billionaire wants to take over the running of the football operations at the club.
It is believed the deal can be ratified at a board meeting this Thursday (October 19).
What does this mean for Manchester United?
There is finally light at the end of the tunnel for Manchester United fans wanting a fresh start at their club, but the Glazer family seem likely to remain majority owners.
Per Sky Sports News, Ratcliffe wanted to buy all of the Glazers’ 67 percent shareholding but this deal will see him arrive in partnership with the American businessmen.
After putting the club up for sale over a year ago, the kind of offers the Glazer family expected for Manchester United didn’t seem to arrive. Ratcliffe is a boyhood Manchester United fan and he and Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al Thani seemed to be the only two in the running.
What is Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s plan?
Qatari businessman Sheikh Jassim offered to buy 100 percent of the club for way above the $3.3 billion valuation of the club on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), but he pulled out of a deal to buy the club outright last week.
So a deal for Ratcliffe and INEOS to buy equal chunks of shares from both the Glazer family and the club stock publicly listed on the NYSE seems to be the winner.
It has been widely reported that Ratcliffe sees this initial 25 percent stake as a starting point and will look to buy more shares from the Glazer family over time in a ‘phased takeover’ of the Premier League club.
Ratcliffe’s INEOS currently owns Nice in France’s Ligue 1, while they also own Lausanne Sport in Switzerland’s top-flight and part-own the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 team.
