ratcliffe Enters Race To Buy Man Utd

British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s business Ineos has officially stated an interest in buying Premier League football club Manchester United.

Ineos, the London-based chemicals company, revealed that it has ‘formally’ put itself into the process of buying one of English football’s biggest clubs, two months after United’s current owners, the Glazer family, revealed that they are considering selling the club.

In a statement in November, the club stated that the board will ‘consider all strategic alternatives, including new investment into the club, a sale, or other transactions involving the company.’

Ratcliffe made a late £4.25bn offer to buy Chelsea last year after Russian owner Roman Abramovich put the London club up for sale, but the bid was unsuccessful. Now, Ratcliffe, whose personal wealth is estimated at £11bn by Forbes, is eyeing the Red Devils – the club he supported growing up.

American investment firm Raine Group is currently exclusively advising United ahead of a potential sale. The firm also brokered the deal that saw Todd Boehly buy Chelsea FC in May.

This would not be the Ineos group’s first foray in sport. Its sporting portfolio also includes French Ligue 1 football club Nice and Swiss side Lausanne. In addition, the company owns sailing team Ineos Britannia, led by Sir Ben Ainslie, and holds a five-year partnership with Formula 1 team Mercedes. Ineos also took over the British-based Team Sky in cycling in 2019.

Ineos becomes the first party to openly express its interest in purchasing Manchester United.

The club said in November that the sales process would ‘include an assessment of several initiatives to strengthen the club, including stadium and infrastructure redevelopment, and expansion of the club’s commercial operations on a global scale, each in the context of enhancing the long-term success of the club’s men’s, women’s and academy teams, and bringing benefits to fans and other stakeholders.’

The news has brought the end of United’s Glazer family ownership closer. The period has been dominated by fan protests and declining on-pitch performance, as well as involvement in the failed European Super League.

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