INEOS Chairman Jim Ratcliffe has become a minority shareholder in Manchester United, buying a 25% stake for $33 per share, the Premier League football club said on Sunday, following a bidding process that lasted more than 12 months.
Qatarโs Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al Thani was also looking to buy the club but dropped out of the process, saying he would not be raising his $6 billion offer, leaving the British billionaire to strike a deal with the owners, the Glazer family.
Ratcliffeโs INEOS will also take on the management of Manchester Unitedโs soccer operations and invest $300 million in the club.
โAs part of the transaction, INEOS has accepted a request by the Board to be delegated responsibility for the management of the clubโs football operations,โ the club said in a statement.
โThis will include all aspects of the menโs and womenโs football operations and Academies, alongside two seats on the Manchester United PLC board and the Manchester United Football Club boards.โ
Ratcliffeโs INEOS also owns French Ligue 1 club Nice, Swiss Super League side FC Lausanne-Sport, and works with Racing Club Abidjan of Ivory Coast Ligue One. It is also behind the Grenadiers, one of the worldโs most successful cycling teams.
