British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe’s company Ineos officially entered the race to buy Manchester United on Tuesday. United’s owners, the Glazer family, said they were willing to listen to offers for the Premier League club in November and Ratcliffe would like to make a deal. Boyhood United fan Ratcliffe, who made a failed £4.25bn ($5.2bn) bid to buy Chelsea last year, has long been associated with the Old Trafford team. “We have formally engaged in the process,” an Ineos spokesperson told the BBC.
After the failure of his Chelsea takeover when Roman Abramovich sold The Blues to American tycoon Todd Boehly and his consortium, Ratcliffe is once again on the hunt for a Premier League giant.
United are yet to comment on news of the 70-year-old’s interest in taking over from US-based Glazers.
But Ratcliffe, born in Failsworth, Greater Manchester, is one of Britain’s richest men and may be more in favor of United’s support than the Glazers, who have seen numerous fan protests during their troubled reign.
The Glazers, who completed a leveraged takeover of the club in 2005, have proved deeply unpopular with supporters due to the team’s declining on-field fortunes in recent years.
Their purchase of United has also saddled the club with huge debts and they have long been accused of raising more financially than they have invested in terms of transfer fees.
The Glazers further angered United fans by backing the failed European Super League project in April 2021, which would have resulted in the club entering a breakaway competition.
A statement from United in November said the board “will consider all strategic alternatives, including new investment in the club, a sale or other transactions involving the company”.
United have not won the Premier League since 2013 and their last major trophy came six years ago.
After a dismal sixth-place finish in the Premier League last season, United have been revived by boss Erik ten Hag and are fourth in the table after beating arch-rivals Manchester City 2-1 on Saturday.
Ineos is keen to expand a sports portfolio already owned by France’s Nice and Swiss team FC Lausanne-Sport, as well as cycling team Ineos Grenadiers, formerly Team Sky.
Ratcliffe could face competition from Saudi Arabian investors after the country’s sports minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, said in November there could be interest in buying United and Liverpool, which are also up for sale.
US investment firm Raine Group, which handled the sale of Chelsea, exclusively advises United, which is valued at around £5 billion.
(This story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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