Sir Jim Ratcliffe submits offer for 25 per cent of Class A shares at Man Utd

The Ineos chairman has agreed to buy a 25 per cent stake in the Premier League club.

Simon Peach
Wednesday 17 January 2024 12:34 GMT
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has taken the next step in his bid to take minority ownership in Manchester United (Martin Rickett/PA)
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has taken the next step in his bid to take minority ownership in Manchester United (Martin Rickett/PA) (PA Wire)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has submitted his tender offer for 25 per cent of the Class A shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange as part of his deal to become the minority owner of Manchester United.

It was announced on Christmas Eve that the Ineos chairman had agreed to buy a 25 per cent stake in the Premier League club in a deal that included investing 300million US dollars (£236.7million) into their infrastructure.

As well as buying Class B shares held by the Glazer family, the announcement confirmed that Ratcliffe would offer to acquire up to 25 per cent of all Class A shares at a price of 33 US dollars (£26) per share.

That offer from his company, Trawlers Limited, for up to 13,237,834 Class A ordinary shares was confirmed in a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Wednesday.

United’s Class A share price was 19.84 US dollars (£15.64) on December 22 – the last full day before the public announcement of Ratcliffe’s offer.

On the last full trading day before the commencement of the offer the price was 21.20 US dollars (£16.71) per share.

The document read: “The offer and withdrawal rights will expire at one minute after 11.59pm eastern time on February 13, 2024, unless the offer is extended or earlier terminated.”

The filing also said upon the consummation of the offer Ratcliffe’s shares would collectively “represent a 27.69 per cent ownership interest and 28.71 per cent voting interest in the Company”.

Earlier in the day United announced their first-quarter earnings for the three months ending September 30, 2023.

Published later than usual following the conclusion of the strategic review, it showed record first-quarter revenues up nine per cent at £157.1m.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in