Ratcliffe Explores Minority United Stake

Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos Group is exploring the option of securing a minority stake in Manchester United, rather than seeking full control.

The Glazer family, who currently own the club, announced in November that they were considering selling United as they ‘explore strategic alternatives’.

Since then, Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al Thani have emerged as the front runners in the race to buy the club, but neither party has met the Glazer’s asking price.

Both are thought to have tabled bids of around £5bn last April but no agreement materialised.

According to various reports, to break the impasse over the ownership situation, petrochemicals billionaire Ratcliffe has proposed to the controlling Glazer family a deal that would see it acquiring chunks of both their shares and the stock publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in equal proportion.

Sky News has suggested that a potential deal would entail making an offer at the same price for both sets of shares, with the report claiming that Sir Jim could seek a roughly 25% stake in the club as part of his latest proposal.

A deal of this nature is not expected to go down well with the Manchester United fanbase who have held demonstrations against the Glazer family inside and outside Old Trafford. The team is also struggling on the pitch with Erik Ten Haag’s side sitting tenth in the table and with four losses in seven games.

The specific details of Ratcliffe’s proposal are unclear, but the move would allow the Glazer family to retain a significant shareholding in United and may be regarded by Ratcliffe as the best way to secure ownership in the long-term.

The British entrepreneur’s main competitor Sheikh Jassim has always maintained that his party is only interested in 100% of the club.