Manchester United have confirmed a partial takeover of the club by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, MySportDab reports.
United club statement confirms the club have approved the 71-year-old’s £1.25bn bid for partial ownership of the club.
The club statement reads;
“Manchester United plc (NYSE: MANU) announced today that it has entered into an agreement under which Chairman of INEOS, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, will acquire 25 per cent of Manchester United’s Class B shares and up to 25 per cent of Manchester United’s Class A shares and provide an additional $300 million intended to enable future investment into Old Trafford.”
Details of the agreement as also confirmed in the club statement are as follows:
- Acquisition of 25% of the Class B shares held by the Glazer family
- Offer to acquire up to 25% of all Class A shares
- The Glazer family and Class A shareholders will receive the same price of $33.00 per share
- Further investment of $300 million in the Club
- INEOS delegated responsibility for management of football operations
- Completion of this deal is subject to receiving all necessary regulatory approvals including from the Premier League
The takeover announcement has put an end to a dragging takeover process which began over a year ago on November 2022.
After mounting pressure by Man United fans and legends, the Glazers finally agreed to sell the club.
The embattled American investors invited offers from interested parties for a deal with Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim leading the race to takeover the club.
Sheikh Jassim later withdrew from the race blasting the Glazers for using him to inflate Man United bidding price while they only wanted a partial ownership deal.
Sheikh Jassim’s withdrawal paved the way for Sir Jim Ratcliffe to emerge as favorite to assume ownership of the club.
However, his bid was not popular with Man United fans compared Shiekh Jassim’s who offered for a full not partial ownership of the club.
Despite losing Sheikh Jassim, it is believed Sir Jim Ratcliffe will offer a slight break from the unproductive hegemony of the Glazers.
Particularly, Sir Jim Ratcliffe is expected to take over and transform Man United sporting and footballing operations that has suffered abject neglect under the watch of the Glazers.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe is the owner of French Ligue 1 side Nice, and has been preferred as a better alternative for the Glazers to take charge of Man United sporting and footballing operations.
He will oversee Man United transfers and other football-related activities of the club.
