British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe plans to make a bid that would value England’s Manchester United Football Club at more than £5bn, a record acquisition price for a sports team, according to two people briefed on the plans.
Ratcliffe, founder of chemical empire Ineos, is competing with Qatari businessman Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani to take over England’s most successful Premier League football club.
Both bidders must submit proposals to the Glazer family, which controls the club, by a 9pm deadline on Wednesday, the people said. Ratcliffe’s offer value includes debt. The value of Sheikh Jassim’s offer remains unclear.
The offer follows a series of meetings with Manchester United officials at the club’s Old Trafford stadium and Carrington training facility. The full sale would beat the $4.65 billion that Rob Walton, heir to the Walmart retail fortune, paid to acquire the Denver Broncos American football franchise last year.
Manchester United, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, has a market capitalization of $4.2bn and debt of approximately $700m. Shares rose 4.8 percent in New York on Wednesday.
The Glazer family, advised by merchant bank The Raine Group, bought United in 2005, in a £790 million leveraged buyout led by the late Malcolm Glazer who had angered fans over the club’s debt.
The Glazers were one of the first foreign owners to buy English football, following Roman Abramovich’s acquisition of west London rivals Chelsea FC in 2003, as the international popularity of the Premier League attracted global capital.
In May last year, US investors paid £2.5bn to acquire Chelsea from Abramovich, who has been sanctioned by Britain following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Months later, the Glazers said they would consider selling United as part of a strategic review that could see them raise capital or find partners to invest in Old Trafford.
Some investment firms are also looking to inject capital in exchange for minority stakes, people familiar with the matter said.
One of Britain’s richest men, Ratcliffe has grown Ineos from chemicals to consumer brands such as Belstaff, the British clothing label. The group also owns several sports assets, including French football club OGC Nice, a third of the Mercedes Formula 1 team, and the Grenadiers cycling team.
Led by Dutch manager Erik ten Hag, Manchester United have moved up to third in the Premier League after finishing sixth last season and failing to qualify for the UEFA Champions League.
Manchester United won their first trophy since 2017 after beating Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup final in February.