Sir Jim Ratcliffe ‘gave Man Utd Christmas Day deadline to accept his offer’

Sir Jim Ratcliffe warned Manchester United he was prepared to withdraw his offer to become minority owner if it was not given the green light before Christmas, it has been revealed.

It was announced on December 24th that the Ineos chairman had agreed to buy a 25 per cent stake in the Premier League club in a deal that included investing $300 million (€275 million) into their infrastructure.

But US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings released on Wednesday have revealed Ratcliffe’s patience had begun to wear thin shortly before an agreement was struck.

In the week before Christmas, Ratcliffe’s company Trawlers Limited “gave Manchester United a deadline of December 25th, 2023 to accept its best and final proposal”.

Manchester United reaches agreement for Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Chairman of INEOS, to acquire up to a 25% shareholding in the Company.#MUFC

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) December 24, 2023

Widespread discussions had been held between February’s initial offer for a controlling stake and the ultimate outcome.

There was pushback from non-affiliated directors to what is known in the filings as the ‘October Proposal’ of $33 for 25 per cent of Class A and B shares plus $300 million capital.

Ratcliffe agreed to slight concessions after conversations between December 18th and 22nd but “was not prepared to accept any of other changes proposed by the non-affiliated directors”.

It led to an informal meeting of the board of directors on December 22nd and a “robust discussion regarding the feedback from the offeror”.

The board representatives noted Ratcliffe “could decide to withdraw (the) proposal if the board of directors was not prepared to move forward by December 25, 2023”.

That transaction was subsequently agreed