A review of Manchester United's takeover: 13 months of gambling! 5 offers of West Asian tycoons +$6.4 billion are still rejected

In the early morning of December 25, Beijing time, the Premier League giants officially announced that the INEOS Group led by Jim Ratcliffe acquired 25% of the club's shares at a price of 1.25 billion pounds, and Ratcliffe will also take over Manchester United's football business.

According to the BBC, Ratcliffe will provide Manchester United with about $300 million in additional funds for infrastructure works related to the stadium. It will take 6-8 weeks for United to obtain regulatory approval from the Premier League after the takeover is completed. Ratcliffe and INEOS Group will be conducting their own audits during this time, but they will not be able to exercise decision-making power at the club until the agreement is approved.

Thirteen months ago, in November 2022, Manchester United's current owners, the Glazer family, announced the sale of ownership of the club. In February, Ratcliffe's INEOS Group and Qatar's Jassim-led consortium both made bids of about £5 billion, but neither of the two acquirers was willing to reach the Glazer family's valuation.

From February 2023 to June 2023, Jassim has made five offers that have been rejected by the Glazers. Jassim had already announced in October that he was withdrawing from the United takeover process due to delayed progress on the takeover. Despite Jassim's claim that his ultimate bid was double United's $3.2 billion valuation, it still couldn't satisfy the greedy Glazer. Ratcliffe has since struck a deal with the Glazer family to acquire a 25% stake in the club.

The 71-year-old describes himself as a lifelong Manchester United fan. He is the founder and chairman of INEOS Group, whose latest net worth is $15.2 billion. With Ratcliffe only taking over 25% of the shares, Manchester United may still not be able to get rid of the control and blood-sucking of the "cunning" Glazer in the future.