- The club officially announced Ratcliffe as a minority owner on December 24
- Documents released this week show Ratcliffe has given a date for the deal to be approved
- CHRIS SUTTON: Don’t wait! Sir Jim Ratcliffe must now fire Erik ten Hag It all starts
Sir Jim Ratcliffe warned Man United he was prepared to withdraw his offer to become minority owner if it was not approved before Christmas Day.
The Red Devils announced on December 24 that the chairman of Ineos had agreed to buy a 25 percent stake in the club in a deal that included a £236.7 million investment in their infrastructure.
But U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings released Wednesday show Ratcliffe’s patience began to wear thin shortly before an agreement was reached.
In the week before Christmas, Ratcliffe’s company Trawlers Limited ‘gave Manchester United a deadline of 25 December 2023 to accept its best and final proposal’.
There have been widespread discussions between February’s initial bid for a controlling stake and the final outcome.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s patience with Man United to get a deal done was reportedly running thin
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Ratcliffe agreed to minor concessions after talks between December 18 and 22, but “was unwilling to accept any other changes proposed by the non-affiliated directors.”
It led to an informal meeting of the board of directors on December 22 and a “robust discussion on the bidder’s feedback.”
The board representatives noted that Ratcliffe “could decide to withdraw (the) proposal if the board was unwilling to move forward before December 25, 2023.”
That transaction was subsequently agreed on December 24, ending a process that began in early June 2022.
United met with representatives from investment bank Raine ‘on several occasions to discuss potential strategic opportunities to enhance shareholder value and serve the interests of the football club’s fans’.
The club signed 26 non-disclosure agreements and 19 were invited to the first round of bidding, including Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim.
The Qatari was considered the main competitor to buy the club and formally withdrew from the process on October 15, 2023.
In the documents known as ‘Bidder A’, it was noted on a number of occasions that they ‘did not provide customary financing commitment letters’.
Avram Glazer, pictured left, and Joel Glazer, right, are the co-chairmen of Man United
Raine advised Sheikh Jassim’s offer on May 22 that a proposal to acquire all the ordinary shares would only be considered if a price of US$35.25 (£27.83) was met.
Ultimately, Ratcliffe struck a deal to buy 25 percent of the Glazer family’s Class B shares and up to 25 percent of all Class A shares at a price of US$33 (£26).
The latest published material also underlined that the Glazers can force Ratcliffe to sell his 25 percent stake under certain conditions – a “drag along clause” originally outlined in SEC filings published on December 26.
Wednesday’s tender statement read: ‘So long as the Glazer Parties are the majority shareholder, after the date 18 months after the Closing Date and in connection with any sale of the entire business (herein referred to as an ‘full sale’), the Board of Directors may require the Trawlers Party’s company to sell all the common shares of their company and take other actions reasonably necessary to effect the complete sale.
‘This ‘carry-along right’ can only be exercised by the Glazer Parties or the Board of Directors under certain conditions.’
