Ineos founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe to bid over £5B for Manchester United – The Financial Times

By Sam Boughedda

Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the British billionaire and founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of INEOS, is set to bid more than £5B (£1 = $1.2319) for Manchester United Ltd (NYSE:), according to a report by the Financial Times on Wednesday.

The entrepreneur is competing with Qatari sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al-Thani to acquire the Premier League giant. The news of Ratcliffe’s potential bid follows reports on Tuesday that the club is set to receive a “world record bid” from Bin Hamad Al Thani.

The bidders are set to submit improved bids to the Glazer family, which controls the club, ahead of Wednesday’s 21:00 GMT deadline.

The Financial Times said, according to two people briefed on the plan, Ratcliffe’s more than £5B bid includes debt and represents a record purchase price for a sports team.

According to recent reports, Ineos is aiming to acquire the Glazer shareholding of around 69% of the club, but the Qatar bid is targeting 100% of the club.

BBC Sport said on Wednesday that it learned United officials had met eight potential investors over 10 days of high-level meetings recently. Those potential suitors included Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim’s representatives.