While Sir Jim Ratcliffe is getting ready to take a significantly larger, albeit still minority, position in Manchester United, American billionaire Leon Cooperman has purchased over a million shares of the team.
The Glazer family, who have now controversially owned United for the previous 18 years, declared in November of last year that they want to explore “strategic alternatives” for the team.
These options have encompassed every conceivable investment, ranging from majority agreements to complete acquisitions. Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani, the previous opposition bidder, had both intended to take over ownership of the Old Trafford team.
Sheikh Jassim made the best offer of £5 billion, but the Glazer family valued United at more than £6 billion, possibly even up to £10 billion. The existing owners are also hesitant to sell at a discount. As a result, the banker from Qatar pulled out of the takeover competition last month.
Ratcliffe’s bid to buy a quarter of the club actually increased the club’s total valuation while preserving the Glazers’ controlling ownership for the foreseeable future.
With his long-term goal of becoming majority owner, he has been willing to go to any lengths to succeed in his bid, even if it means beginning a little smaller.
What is the impact of the Leon Cooperman agreement on Sir Jim Ratcliffe?
Regarding the overall situation at Old Trafford, Cooperman’s acquisition of shares has no effect. The Bloomberg Billionaires Index estimates the 80-year-old, who founded the financial firm Omega Advisors in New York, to be worth $2.6 billion (£2.1 billion).
According to a recent filing, the value of the United shares he purchased is $16.8 million (£13.5 million), which pales in comparison to the figures that Ratcliffe and the Glazers are mentioning.
This is not the first time that the current owners have divided up the pie in this way. In 2021, co-chairman Avram Glazer liquidated more over £70 million worth of his personal “Class A Ordinary Shares,” at a time when the club’s market value was somewhat less than £2.4 billion.
With his buy-in, Ratcliffe will likely get more involved, especially in sports operations. Alongside current co-chairman Joel Glazer and longtime trusted assistant Sir Dave Brailsford, who earned his career in cycling but has been Ratcliffe’s head of sport at INEOS since 2021, the Oldham-born industrialist will be part of a three-person panel at the top of the club.
The day-to-day business side will be managed by the chief executive, Richard Arnold, and the new sporting director, Paul Mitchell, a well-known talent scout and recruiter, will be below them.
