It is another huge summer for Sir Jim Ratcliffe at Manchester Unitedplaceholder image
It is another huge summer for Sir Jim Ratcliffe at Manchester United | Getty Images
Manchester United minority owner Jim Ratcliffe is now powerless to keep his shares if the Glazer family ever opt to sell the club
The British billionaire paid £1.2bn for a 27.7% stake in the club, with a deal completed in February 2024. He now owns 28.94% of the Red Devils after upping his stake at the end of 2024.
His arrival at the club followed non-stop rumours of a potential takeover from a Qatari consortium led by Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani. The plan from the Middle East was to complete a full takeover but it never came to fruition.
However, the Glazers - who are the much-maligned majority owners at the club - have retained their majority shares after selling part of the club to Ratcliffe. The INEOS figurehead has taken over footballing matters as the club.
Some of his decision making has proven unpopular with fans and former players with several redundancies made at the club and a £40,000 charity fund for ex-players discounted last year. To name just some of the decision that has sparked criticism.
Man Utd can be sold again without Jim Ratcliffe authorisation
A report from the Daily Mail has revealed that the Glazers can now complete a full sale of United - including Ratcliffe’s shares - without the INEOS man’s say so. This is because of a “drag-along” right that was allowed to come into effect 18 months after Ratcliffe’s purchase of his minority share.
The report explains: “Drag-alongs (or come-alongs or bring-alongs) exist to make it easier for a company to be sold by preventing situations in which a minority shareholder can block a deal that those who hold the majority want to go through.
“In United's case, that means that if the Glazers want to sell then Ratcliffe and Ineos now cannot stop them.”
However, the report goes on to say that the Glazers currently have no intention of selling the club and that they enjoy a good relationship with Ratcliffe. An insider told the newspaper that INEOS taking criticism from the fanbase ‘hasn’t gone unnoticed’ as it has taken the spotlight away from the Glazers - for the time being.
Ratcliffe has also invested his own money into the club with a new training facility opened at Carrington over the summer.
The activation of the drag along right does put more power back into the Glazers’ hands, however there is said to be a belief from inside the club that the American owners are happy with how things are moving under INEOS.
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