MANCHESTER, England: Manchester United plc, and Trawlers Limited, an entity wholly-owned by Jim Ratcliffe, Tuesday confirmed the completion the British billionaire’s acquisition of 25% of the club’s Class B shares and 25% of the club’s Class A shares, following the satisfaction of all conditions, including approvals from the Football Association and the Premier League.
The tender offer by Trawlers Limited for up to 25% of the Class A shares, at a price of $33.00 per share, expired one minute after 11:59 pm Eastern Time on 16 February. Following the expiration, Trawlers Limited accepted for payment 13,237,834 Class A shares, representing 25% of the total outstanding Class A shares as of expiration. Computershare Trust Company N.A., the depositary for the Offer, has advised that the proration factor for the Offer is approximately 26.2%.
Following the closing of the Offer and the acquisition of the Class B shares, Ratcliffe has invested $200 million (Rs 16.591 billion) into the club for additional Class A and Class B shares via a primary issuance, resulting in ownership of approximately 27.7% of the club’s Class A shares and 27.7% of the club’s Class B shares, with a further $100m to be invested by 31 December. These funds are intended to enable future investment in infrastructure at Old Trafford.
Ratcliffe said: “To become co-owner of Manchester United is a great honour and comes with great responsibility. This marks the completion of the transaction, but just the beginning of our journey to take Manchester United back to the top of English, European and world football, with world-class facilities for our fans. Work to achieve those objectives will accelerate from today.”
Joel Glazer, executive co-chairman, said: “I would like to welcome Sir Jim as co-owner and look forward to working closely with him and INEOS Sport to deliver a bright future for Manchester United.”
Per UK’s Sky Sports, Ratcliffe and his team have wasted no time getting to know the club during the seven-week process to overcome the necessary hurdles, with Dave Brailsford, director of sport at INEOS (Ratcliffe’s multinational chemicals company), a regular presence around the club.
One of their first moves has been to appoint Omar Berrada from rivals Manchester City as the club’s new chief executive.
Sky further reports that INEOS are also lining up a move for Newcastle sporting director Dan Ashworth after Manchester United approached the Magpies for the 52-year-old.
