Sir Jim Ratcliffe has launched an official takeover bid for Manchester United. Ratcliffe’s Ineos company will compete with Al Thani, chairman of Qatari bank QIB, to acquire the Old Trafford club from the Glazer family.
Ratcliffe is one of the UK’s wealthiest people with an estimated net worth a £12.5billion following the success of global chemical company Ineos.
He had already expressed his desire to buy United – the club he has supported since childhood – although Friday’s soft 10pm deadline passed by without formal comment from the 70-year-old’s camp.
It is now reported that Ratcliffe's bid for United is around £4bn which is about one-third of his net worth.
Ratcliffe – who also owns cycling team Ineos Grenadiers, Ligue 1 side Nice, Swiss club Lausanne-Sport is a one-third shareholder of the Mercedes Formula One team – and Ineos for comment.
Like Ratcliffe, Al Thani claims to be a boyhood United fan, and has indicated his offer would leave the Old Trafford club debt-free, in contrast to the Glazer family’s controversial leveraged buy-out in 2003.
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