:Manchester United's American owners, the Glazer family, are set to finalise a $33 per share deal with Jim Ratcliffe that will see the British billionaire acquire a 25 per cent stake in the English soccer club, Sky News reported on Friday.
The offer represents a premium of 79.1 per cent to the stock's Thursday closing price of $18.43, which gave the Old Trafford club a market capitalization of about $3 billion.
Its U.S.-listed shares jumped 8.1 per cent to $19.90 in premarket trading. The offer would value Ratcliffe's stake at $1.36 billion, according to a Reuters calculation.
The club did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Ratcliffe, also the chair of petrochemicals firm Ineos, would pay more than $1.5 billion for a 25 per cent stake in United if his bid for the soccer club is accepted, Reuters reported in October.
The Glazer family, which made its fortune in real estate, retail and healthcare and owns the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers, bought the team for 790 million pounds in 2005.
The six descendants of American businessman Malcolm Glazer, who died in 2014, together control 96 per cent of Manchester United's voting stock.
The family had last year said they were looking at options for the 20-times English champions, including a new investment or a potential sale.
The deal was yet to be finalised and remained the subject of ongoing negotiations, Sky News reported on Friday.
Earlier this week, the Premier League club said CEO Richard Arnold will step down and general counsel and board director Patrick Stewart, will take on the role on an interim basis.
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