© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Ineos chairman Jim Ratcliffe at Old Trafford in Manchester, Britain March 17, 2023 REUTERS/Phil Noble
By Anirban Sen
(Reuters) – Ineos chairman Jim Ratcliffe would pay more than $1.5 billion for a 25% stake in Manchester United Plc if his bid for the iconic football club was accepted by the Glazer family that controls it, he said. on Sunday a person familiar with the matter. .
The terms of Ratcliffe’s offer, reported here for the first time, infer a valuation of Manchester United of around $6.5 billion, excluding its net debt of more than $600 million, the source said.
That is slightly higher than a rival bid from Qatar’s Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al Thani for 100% of the Premier League club. Manchester United is currently valued on the stock market at $3.3 billion.
Sheikh Jassim informed the Glazer family in recent days that he would not raise his offer further. The Glazers have not yet reached an agreement with Ratcliffe and negotiations could continue at least until the end of the month, the source said.
The Glazer family, who made their fortune in real estate, retail and healthcare and also owns the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, bought the team for 790 million pounds ($960 million) in 2005. The six descendants of the American businessman Malcolm Glazer, who died in 2014, together they control 96% of the voting shares of Manchester United.
The deal structure Ratcliffe has proposed would allow members of the Glazer family, as well as other shareholders, to partially cash out, the source said.
Ratcliffe has offered to be in charge of recruiting and managing talent at Manchester United should his offer prevail, the source said. Some fans of the club have criticized the Glazers over the years for their handling of this key aspect of Manchester United’s operations.
The source requested anonymity because the matter is confidential. Manchester United and Ratcliffe did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ratcliffe founded Ineos in 1998 and is the chemicals group’s chairman and chief executive, with a two-thirds stake. Forbes puts Ratcliffe’s net worth at $18.7 billion.
The British billionaire is no stranger to the sports business. Ineos owns French Ligue 1 club Nice, Swiss Super League club FC Lausanne-Sport and works with Ivory Coast Ligue One partner club Racing Club Abidjan. He is also behind the Grenadiers, one of the most successful cycling teams in the world.
The Glazers’ valuation expectations have been aggressive based on other football deals. Last year, the $3.1 billion acquisition of Chelsea Football Club by an investment group led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital valued it at 5.7 times its last financial year’s revenue.
Ratcliffe’s proposed valuation is equivalent to more than 11 times Manchester United’s revenue over the past 12 months, according to LSEG data.
The club announced in November 2022 that the Glazers were exploring cashing in on their ownership.
Manchester United, the 20-time English champion, has a record 650 million fans worldwide, according to market research firm Kantar. A large number of them have been clamoring for a change of ownership.
This is because the Glazers have experienced a significant decline in fortunes for the club, which has won only the last of its 20 top-flight titles.
Manchester United won the League Cup under Erik ten Hag this season, but their third place finish in the league, 14 points behind local rivals and treble winners Manchester City, underlines the magnitude of the change required.
