Breakdown Of Jim Ratcliffe’s 25% Takeover Of Manchester United

Earlier today, December 24, Sir Jim Ratcliffe confirmed his 25 percent takeover of Manchester United which is worth £1.25 billion.

The 25 percent stake Jim Ratcliffe bought is part of Manchester United’s B shares, which are mostly controlled by the Glazer family, who own 69% of the club and almost all of the voting rights.

This means that the Glazer family will still hold a substantial stake in Manchester United.

However, the 25 percent stake will give Ratcliffe, through his petrochemicals corporation Ineos, the power to oversee the men’s and women’s football operations and academies.

The British billionaire will also be granted two seats on the boards of Manchester United PLC and Manchester United Football Club.

Ratcliffe will assign his Manchester United PLC board seats to Rob Nevin, chairman of Ineos Sport, and John Reece, an Ineos stakeholder, once the takeover receives the required approval.

He will assign his places on the UK club board to former British Cycling boss Sir Dave Brailsford and former executive at Juventus and Paris Saint Germain, Jean-Claude Blanc.

Manchester United majority stakeholders, the Glazer Family React:

The Glazer family took over Manchester United in 2005 after paying £790 million. They decided to put the club for sale 13 months ago after their former player, Cristiano Ronaldo exposed the decay at the club during his interview with British broadcaster Piers Morgan.

Ronaldo’s comment that the Glazer family are not investing enough in the club via the interview sparked the fans to call for the Glazers to exit Old Trafford. The protest forced them to put the club for sale.

But the protest continued when the fans realized that the Glazers would still be involved in the running of the club, thanks to their planned part sales of the club. Despite the fans’ concerns, the Glazer family went on and sold 25 percent of the club to Jim Ratcliffe.

After sealing the deal with Ratcliffe on Sunday, December 24, pending the approval of the English FA, United’s executive co-chairmen and directors, Avram Glazer and Joel Glazer, said: “Sir Jim and Ineos bring a wealth of commercial experience as well as significant financial commitment into the club.

“Through Ineos Sport, Manchester United will have access to seasoned high-performance professionals, experienced in creating and leading elite teams from both inside and outside the game.

“Manchester United has talented people right across the club and we desire to always improve at every level to help bring our great fans more success in the future.”