Manchester United’s stock climbed Tuesday after British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe clinched his 25% minority stake in the iconic English soccer club.
Shares of operator Manchester United Ltd.
MANU,
rose 2.4%, outpacing the S&P 500 index’s
SPX
gain of 0.4%.
Manchester United announced the agreement on Dec. 24, with Ratcliffe acquiring 25% of the Class B shares held by the American Glazer family, which owns the club, and up to 25% of Class A shares. The Glazers and Class A shareholders will receive the same price of $33 a share. The deal values the club at $5.4 billion, falling below initial hopes of $6 billion, according to Bloomberg.
Ratcliffe will also provide an additional $300 million for future investment in Manchester United’s Old Trafford stadium. As part of the deal, Ratcliffe’s chemical conglomerate Ineos Group accepted a request from Manchester United’s board to be delegated responsibility for the club’s football operations. This includes all aspects of the men’s and women’s football operations and the club’s academies, alongside two seats on the Manchester United PLC board and the Manchester United Football Club board.
Related: Manchester United football club announces deal to sell up to 25% of club to Jim Ratcliffe
The Glazers have come under intense pressure to sell Manchester United amid ongoing fan frustration over what is seen as underperformance. The club, one of the biggest names in world football, last won the Premier League in 2013. In 2021, the Glazers faced major backlash from fans over planned involvement in the controversial European Super League.
In an open letter to the Manchester United Supporters’ Trust Tuesday, Ratcliffe said that returning the club to the pinnacle of soccer will take time. “I believe we can bring sporting success on the pitch to complement the undoubted commercial success that the club has enjoyed,” he said. “It will require time and patience alongside rigour and the highest level of professional management.”
Ratcliffe had previously been locked in a takeover battle with Qatar’s Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al Thani to wrest control of Manchester United from the Glazers, who have owned the club since 2005. In November 2022, the Glazers confirmed they were exploring options for their investment or an outright sale of the Premier League club.
Manchester United shares have fallen 12.9% in 2023, compared with the S&P 500 index’s gain of 24.3%. The club, which currently sits in eighth place in the Premier League, faces Aston Villa at Old Trafford Tuesday.
Related: Billionaire Jim Ratcliffe meets with Manchester United for sale talks
Led by manager Erik ten Hag, Manchester United did clinch its first silverware in six years earlier this year, with a 2-0 defeat of Newcastle United in the League Cup final.
Manchester United is the most successful team in the history of the English top division, which it has won 20 times. A record 13 of those titles have come in the Premier League era, which began in 1992. Founded as Newton Heath in 1878, the club became Manchester United in 1902 and won the first of its 20 league titles six years later.
