Sir Jim Ratcliffe has been holding video calls with Joel Glazer to negotiate a 25% stake buy-in at Manchester United.
The INEOS chief expects his £1.3bn offer to buy 25 per cent of the club to be approved in the coming weeks and he is working on the structure of the deal with Joel Glazer, as per the Manchester Evening News.
It has been almost a year since the Glazers confirmed they were “exploring strategic alternatives” for United but the saga has dragged on. This has had a negative effect on the club because there is no certainty whatsoever about the future.
Club employees and shareholders have been kept out of the loop throughout the process.
Nick Train, one of United’s shareholders, gave his thoughts on the club’s strategic review as Ratcliffe closes in on an agreement to buy a 25% stake.
“I’ve got to assume that we’re close to some sort of an announcement or crystallisation of value but who knows when or quite what shape it will take if the rumours are correct,” Train told the Financial Times’ Money Clinic podcast. “I’ve no basis for knowing if they are or not.”
Train added: “If the rumours are correct… the asset is worth more than £5bn. It would be wonderful if our investors end up seeing that value accorded to the shares that we own on their behalf.”
Also on the podcast, Train reveals why he seized the chance to secure a stake in United and why he’d like more young people to ditch sports betting in favour of having a flutter on the stock market.
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