A great deal occurred on November 22, 2022. Cristiano Ronaldo formally left Manchester United, Argentina lost to Saudi Arabia in their opening World Cup match, and the Glazer family listed the entire team for sale.
Ronaldo is the face of Saudi football, Argentina is the current world champions, and United’s time in the shop window may be thankfully coming to an end. Almost a year has passed, but it feels like much longer.
On October 14, 2023, news broke that Sir Jim Ratcliffe had outwitted Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani by deciding to purchase a minority share in United.
This is all the information you need to understand Ratcliffe’s plan and how the hated Glazer family, who control United, will be impacted.
What is the Man Utd takeover plan proposed by Sir Jim Ratcliffe?
Ratcliffe proposed to buy a 51% share in the team, leaving Joel and Avram Glazer as minority owners, at the deadline for updated offers in April. But there was a clear worry that Ratcliffe’s plan, which only included buying shares from the Glazers, would reduce the value of the stock held by the club’s remaining investors. United’s board was allegedly uneasy about the possibility of legal action.
Thus, as 90min disclosed at the beginning of October, Ratcliffe imagined obtaining a minority share in United in order to gain access to his boyhood club.
The owner of the massive petrochemical company INEOS made a second offer to buy a 25% share in the club for an outrageous £1.3 billion, with the option to buy additional shares down the road.
Ratcliffe’s aggressive offer, which values the team at over £5 billion, is purportedly contingent on him assuming full responsibility for all sporting decisions. This includes choosing the club’s first-team coach, football director, and possibly even the players that are signed.
For what reason did Sheikh Jassim back out of the Man Utd bid?
https://twitter.com/90min_Football/status/1713302407436808216?t=CcfQyf69_EutxUhUdSJfaA&s=19
The day before Ratcliffe was met by Manchester United CEO Richard Arnold outside Old Trafford in March 2023, a group from Sheikh Jassim’s Nine Two Foundation was shown around the Theatre of Dreams.
Following the initial soft deadline in spring 2023, a number of US hedge funds withdrew, solidifying Jassim’s position as Ratcliffe’s most formidable rival with his cash offer for a 100% share.
But after months of talks that never seemed to lift the mystery surrounding Jassim—a man whose own representatives were unable to pinpoint his exact age—the Nine Two Foundation withdrew from the competition when they refused to raise their most recent offer.
With a projected £5 billion price tag, the final offer promised to pay off the club’s £725 million debt accumulated by the Glazers in addition to providing an additional £1.4 billion to finance a new stadium, training facility, and transfer fund.
The Glazers’ assessed United’s worth at an astounding £10 billion, significantly more than the £2.6 billion estimate derived from the team’s stock market standing. Even though Sheikh Jassim claimed to be quite wealthy, he was unwilling to open his wallet further.
What does the Glazer family stand to gain from Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Man Utd stake?
With the benefit of hindsight, the original language of the press announcement that offered United’s for sale in November appears telling. A “process to explore strategic alternatives” consisted of “new investment into the club, a sale, or other transactions involving the company” . Despite the fans’ persistent pleas for them to depart, the Glazers never truly committed to making a fresh start.
Ratcliffe is not unseating the American family from United’s leadership by acquiring just 25% of the team, including shares from the Glazers and other investors to avoid any legal issues.
Though it has never been the Glazers’ primary priority, it is unclear if they will give up sports authority to Ratcliffe. Regardless, they will continue to play a big role in the club. The Glazers have received dividends totaling over £9 million annually, or about £165 million, since their leveraged purchase in 2005. Why would they forfeit this simple source of income at a price lower than their outrageous valuations?
The club’s board will vote in the upcoming week to decide whether to approve Ratcliffe’s request. Despite holding 96% of the voting rights, the six Glazer brothers occupy half of the twelve seats. This deal will close if they want it to.
