UNITED CONFIRM SIR JIM RATCLIFFE’S £1.25 BILLION DEAL FOR 27.7% STAKE IS COMPLETE
Manchester United have confirmed that Sir Jim Ratcliffe has completed his minority acquisition of the club following the approval of all conditions by the English FA and the Premier League, an official statement went out late Tuesday evening.
The statement read: “Manchester United PLC (NYSE: MANU), and Trawlers Limited, an entity wholly-owned by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, are pleased to confirm that Sir Jim Ratcliffe has completed his acquisition of 25% of the club’s Class B shares and 25% of the club’s Class A shares, following the satisfaction of all conditions, including approvals from the Football Association and the Premier League.”
Ratcliffe’s acquisition brings his overall stake up to 27.7%, which is slightly higher than the previously assumed 25% stake. INEOS’s acquisition of the club was expected to be ratified and announced sometime in February and as expected, the news comes just 9 days before the month closes out.
It’s estimated that Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s investment in United is worth about $1.6 billion, or £1.25 billion. The 71-year-old billionaire is the chairman of petrochemicals company INEOS, and owns two other football clubs, a Swiss Super League club, Lausanne-Sport and Ligue Un side, Nice. He tried and failed to buy Chelsea FC in May 2022.
“To become co-owner of Manchester United is a great honor and comes with great responsibility,” said Sir Jim Ratcliffe. “This marks the completion of the transaction, but just the beginning of our journey to take United back to the top of English, European and world football, with world class facilities for our fans. Work to achieve those objectives will accelerate from today.”
Ratcliffe is expected to invest at least $300 million into the development of infrastructure at Old Trafford by December 31st, this year. INEOS will be in charge of managing the club’s football operations, including all aspects of the men’s and women’s football operations and academies. They will also have two seats on the Manchester United PLC board and the Manchester United FC board.
While United fans would have much rather preferred a complete takeover that would result in the current owners, the Glazer family, selling their entire stake to a new owner, they will have to settle with the current ownership shake up in a minority capacity, as it seems apparent that Sir Jim Ratcliffe is playing the long game. Most experts expect Ratcliffe to eventually take over as majority owner of the club if and when the Glazers decide to step away and cash in on their 2005 investment.
Manchester United Executive Co-Chairman, Joe Glazer, said: “I would like to welcome Sir Jim as co-owner and look forward to working closely with him and INEOS Sport to deliver a bright future for Manchester United.”
A huge hurdle for United, confirmation of the minority acquisition arrives just as the club tries to finalize its process of hiring a new sporting director. Manchester United have been linked with former Brighton executive and current Newcastle United’s sporting director, Dan Ashworth, who was put on gardening leave by Newcastle on Sunday after he informed the club he wanted to leave for Manchester United.
United also hired Manchester City Chief Football Operations Officer Omar Berrada as the club’s new CEO last month, in the new hierarchy and structure within the club. Patrick Stewart, the interim CEO, currently holds the temporary office of that position at the club.
Ratcliffe’s minority acquisition in the club feels like a new dawn for Manchester United, who have been struggling with on-field performances since Sir Alex Ferguson left the club 11 years ago. With fans holding hope for what the future has in store under Sir Jim Ratcliffe, some football pundits, including former Arsenal legend Paul Merson, believe the club should now perform to the level it has been accustomed to in the past. Merson said the players and coaches now have no excuses for poor performances.
“Yeah, results have been good. I don’t think the performances have been great but they’re winning football matches,” said Merson. “I think they’re back in it now, top four, all positive stuff from Man United.”
United are on a decent run of form, winning their past four in the Premier League against Wolves, West Ham United, Aston Villa and Luton Town. Erik ten Hag’s side scored 11 times during that stretch of games and conceded only five goals against.
“No more excuses, really now, they can’t keep sitting behind the Glazers,” he went on. “They’ve got to start performing on the pitch and get back into Champions League football as quickly as possible and up the league. [These are] positive signs from Man United.”
United fans will be ecstatic with the recent moves the club has made with the hierarchy and structure but only time will tell if these will translate into success on the field for the football team. As far as longevity and whether the new minority ownership can sustain the ups and downs that have recently become synonymous with Manchester United, it doesn’t appear that Sir Jim Ratcliffe is considering this a short-term investment.
“We are here for the long term,” said Sir Jim Ratcliffe in December. “And [we] recognize that a lot of challenges and hard work lie ahead, which we will approach with rigor, professionalism and passion. We are committed to working with everyone at the Club – the Board, staff, players and fans – to help drive the Club forward.”
-Maher Abucheri
Twitter: @pabloikonyero
Photo: Andre Zahn. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Germany license.