Manchester United reaches agreement for Sir Jim Ratcliffe to acquire 25% of the company

Status
Not open for further replies.

Unam333

Full Member
Joined
May 26, 2008
Messages
5,805
Announcing this on xmas eve when many employees of the club will be worried about their jobs (Im talking about non football staff here by the way). Its a shit time to announce this
100% this, there's some elements of the club that have remained in house which would normally be subcontracted to a separate company, I understand this was done originally for the kudos but the cynic in me suspects its remained this way as a cost cutting measure. I'd imagine Ineos will have been lobbied by companies already or already have ties to companies that will be eager to get on board. The recent food hygiene incident offers a good example, catering, maintenance, ticketing, security office staff I'd imagine pretty much everyone from Murtough to the carpark attendants will be viewing this with some caution. There are a few obnoxious parasites that should be public marched out of that place with rotten fruit thrown at them, but the vast majority of staff are good, loyal and I hope they benefit from any potential changes
Interesting and I actually agree.
It's not good news for non football staff and the timing couldn't be worse with Christmas just around the corner.
I imagine quite a lot of employees right now aren't looking forward to Christmas family gatherings.
 

AFC NimbleThumb

New Member
Joined
Apr 21, 2019
Messages
8,363
What other way would have been acceptable?
I’ve answered this elsewhere. Jim didn’t have to invest on these terms he has chosen to. If the Glazers wanted to stay he could have shown principles & left the negotiation.

If SjR walked where do the Glazers go? A hedge fund with even less favourable terms. This deal is better than that but being better than utter shite still makes this deal shite.

What we have now is a perfect halfway house for 2 of 3 partoes. SjR has ‘footballing control’ at a fraction of the cost he probably thought he would have to stump up, the Glazers get to profit most from any potential successes in the future & pocket a hefty sum from SjR.

What about the 3rd party. Manchester United. Well theres this £300mil investment people are getting excited over, which dwindles in comparison to what the Glazers have A) given themselves in dividends over the years; B) the money the Glazers will pocket from selling the shares; C) How does £300mil make a dent in the squad &/or the infrastructure of the club which once best in class is now middling.

My problem with a deal of this type from the off is it puts SjR & The Glazers at the forefront. Like it or not a full sale would have still seen the Glazers pocket a tidy sum but would have seen the club rid of their cloud but what we have now puts the club firmly 3rd on the podium after todays announcement.

Edit: Can’t believe I forgot to mention this. The fecking debt, yea that’s still there whilst the Glazers sold shares for pure profit. Feck this deal.
 

neon_badger

Full Member
Joined
Sep 5, 2023
Messages
376
Location
Timperley
Interesting and I actually agree.
It's not good news for non football staff and the timing couldn't be worse with Christmas just around the corner.
I imagine quite a lot of employees right now aren't looking forward to Christmas family gatherings.
Christmas is already hard work as United are at home as usual on boxing day so lots of people only get tomorrow off. Then again, I'm naturally pessimistic towards the place and I'm the first to admit I hold a grude so maybe there's room for cautious optimism, things need to change
 

redshaw

Full Member
Joined
Jul 17, 2015
Messages
9,701
It‘s like wanting a PS5 for Christmas but opening the wrapping paper and getting a PS4

Is it better than nothing? sure but ultimately deep down it’s a bit shit
More like a Playstation Portal that you can use at your greasy rat tail "friends" house PS5.
 

JagUTD

Full Member
Joined
Sep 20, 2022
Messages
3,223
Kaveh Solhekol just basically took apart the whole thing on SSN, pointing-out all the sporting failures of INEOS in various sports as well as the level of investment needed to repair the damage caused by the fecking Glazers over the last 18 years, and the remaining questions about the debt, etc.
The way to describe this guy rhymes with once...
 

Get In Scholesy

Full Member
Joined
Mar 21, 2010
Messages
4,052
Location
The Plains of Nineveh
For what it’s worth, some throw ins are worth celebrating :smirk:

More seriously though, I’m so sick of the Glazers that even them having a 1% share would still upset me.

Also, I have been numb to a lot of things lately surrounding the club lately, I would rather have Sir Jim and Ineos implement successful changes before I get ahead of myself and sing their praises.
 

Red Royal

Full Member
Joined
Aug 19, 2013
Messages
3,121
Location
Planet Earth
This just adds to what is becoming a very poor season. Hope I am wrong but doubt SJR will be able to fox much.
 

DevilRed

Full Member
Joined
Mar 2, 2011
Messages
13,002
Location
Stretford End
Class a shares have 1/9 of the votes which means that they are irrelevant in the grand scheme. So I'd say 25% of Class B which makes him the leading shareholder if everyone is seen as an individual but still a minority shareholder to the glazers
Makes me wonder whether SJR will have any say on non-football operations and decisions.

Hopefully this is just the beginning of a full glazer exit, but who knows with those parasites.
 

JagUTD

Full Member
Joined
Sep 20, 2022
Messages
3,223
Key points here are;

25% of Class B shares. Now the biggest holder of Class B shares.

Upto 25% Class A Shares. So roughly 43% of the club shares in total if he acquired them all. By far the biggest individual shareholder of he does.

Edit - Got my maths wrong. 25% of 31% so yeh actually equals the 25% in total.

Gaining footballing control basically ends the Glazers involvement with Manchester United Football Club and as some have asked, why would anyone give up the core of your business... Think about it. There isn't an official exit plan but their is a clear intention to exit in handing over control. You'll probably see a mix of Ratcliffe funding and Glazer shares reducing until each is gone.
 

Snow

Somewhere down the lane, a licky boom boom down
Joined
Jul 10, 2007
Messages
33,433
Location
Lousy Smarch weather
Unless the club literally goes under this cannot be worse than where we are at now.
 

Offside

Euro 2016 sweepstake winner
Joined
Jun 9, 2012
Messages
26,741
Location
London
Unless the club literally goes under this cannot be worse than where we are at now.
Is say not entering the depths Arsenal and Liverpool have been in during the last 10 years, or going on a title drought as long as them, not somewhere that sits between where we are now and the club going under?
 

DevilRed

Full Member
Joined
Mar 2, 2011
Messages
13,002
Location
Stretford End
I’ve answered this elsewhere. Jim didn’t have to invest on these terms he has chosen to. If the Glazers wanted to stay he could have shown principles & left the negotiation.

If SjR walked where do the Glazers go? A hedge fund with even less favourable terms. This deal is better than that but being better than utter shite still makes this deal shite.

What we have now is a perfect halfway house for 2 of 3 partoes. SjR has ‘footballing control’ at a fraction of the cost he probably thought he would have to stump up, the Glazers get to profit most from any potential successes in the future & pocket a hefty sum from SjR.

What about the 3rd party. Manchester United. Well theres this £300mil investment people are getting excited over, which dwindles in comparison to what the Glazers have A) given themselves in dividends over the years; B) the money the Glazers will pocket from selling the shares; C) How does £300mil make a dent in the squad &/or the infrastructure of the club which once best in class is now middling.

My problem with a deal of this type from the off is it puts SjR & The Glazers at the forefront. Like it or not a full sale would have still seen the Glazers pocket a tidy sum but would have seen the club rid of their cloud but what we have now puts the club firmly 3rd on the podium after todays announcement.

Edit: Can’t believe I forgot to mention this. The fecking debt, yea that’s still there whilst the Glazers sold shares for pure profit. Feck this deal.
Its sickening. The glazers also won't throw a single dollar back in the club to service the debt either.
 

Pogue Mahone

The caf's Camus.
Joined
Feb 22, 2006
Messages
133,954
Location
"like a man in silk pyjamas shooting pigeons
I’ve answered this elsewhere. Jim didn’t have to invest on these terms he has chosen to. If the Glazers wanted to stay he could have shown principles & left the negotiation.

If SjR walked where do the Glazers go? A hedge fund with even less favourable terms. This deal is better than that but being better than utter shite still makes this deal shite.

What we have now is a perfect halfway house for 2 of 3 partoes. SjR has ‘footballing control’ at a fraction of the cost he probably thought he would have to stump up, the Glazers get to profit most from any potential successes in the future & pocket a hefty sum from SjR.

What about the 3rd party. Manchester United. Well theres this £300mil investment people are getting excited over, which dwindles in comparison to what the Glazers have A) given themselves in dividends over the years; B) the money the Glazers will pocket from selling the shares; C) How does £300mil make a dent in the squad &/or the infrastructure of the club which once best in class is now middling.

My problem with a deal of this type from the off is it puts SjR & The Glazers at the forefront. Like it or not a full sale would have still seen the Glazers pocket a tidy sum but would have seen the club rid of their cloud but what we have now puts the club firmly 3rd on the podium after todays announcement.

Edit: Can’t believe I forgot to mention this. The fecking debt, yea that’s still there whilst the Glazers sold shares for pure profit. Feck this deal.
:lol: Your 4th paragraph is a train wreck. $300m investment is bad because… the Glazers have previously taken money out of the club and SJR has to pay for his shares? When you wrote that did any of it actually make sense to you? Or are you just spit balling nonsense in the hope nobody bothers to read your post?
 

Dr. Dwayne

Self proclaimed tagline king.
Joined
May 9, 2006
Messages
97,600
Location
Nearer my Cas, to thee
There are several positives in the deal. For one the Glazers had lost control over the football side of things which, tbf, had been heavily neglected through the years. Then there's those 300m in investment which is a piss in a pot considering the grand scheme of things but is the first cash injection United owners had been engaged in for decades.

However unless there's a clear path for full ownership then I can't see United returning to the glory days.
The Glazers have always spent money on players, but it seemed they had the idea that spending lots of money on players was all that was required and the football would take care of itself. It's clear this isn't so. Provided the football side of things is run well enough to bring sustained success on the pitch, the Glazers have shown they are quite capable on the commercial side of the business. These will be interesting times.
 

Wednesday at Stoke

Full Member
Joined
Feb 11, 2014
Messages
21,693
Location
Copenhagen
Supports
Time Travel
I think the glazers will cash out to Jim in a year or two once they realize the super league is over and the new TV rights deal comes through to set a ceiling on the value of the club.
 

Amarsdd

Full Member
Joined
Jun 7, 2013
Messages
3,299
:lol: Your 4th paragraph is a train wreck. $300m investment is bad because… the Glazers have previously taken money out of the club and SJR has to pay for his shares? When you wrote that did any of it actually make sense to you? Or are you just spit balling nonsense in the hope nobody bothers to read your post?
:lol: that actually worked, I didn't bother reading that post after the nonsense in the first line.
 

doughole

New Member
Newbie
Joined
Jan 29, 2016
Messages
754
Is there such a thing as a good club owner? Ultimately they are all subject to ego, emotion and whim, their character is the ultimate deciding factor in their commitment to the club.

On the plus side, Radcliffe comes from working class roots and made his money transforming loss making energy companies into profit and going on from there.

On the downside beware of false promises, his vocal pro Brexit stance wasn't reflected in subsequent UK investment.

There may seem to be many problems to solve, but victory will comes from finding opportunities in those problems.
 
Joined
Jun 26, 2014
Messages
22,148
Location
Behind the right goal post as "Whiteside shoots!"
In the United statement:
"Sir Jim will provide a $300 million fund intended to enable future investment into the Club’s infrastructure at Old Trafford, comprising $200 million paid upon the closing of the transaction and a further $100 million by the end of 2024. Trawlers Limited will be issued additional Class A and Class B shares at $33.00 in respect of such investment."
Ahhh ok.

So not sure that means the $300m buys shares direct OR he invests it and gets shares in return, but same ends result?
 

JagUTD

Full Member
Joined
Sep 20, 2022
Messages
3,223
I’ve answered this elsewhere. Jim didn’t have to invest on these terms he has chosen to. If the Glazers wanted to stay he could have shown principles & left the negotiation.

If SjR walked where do the Glazers go? A hedge fund with even less favourable terms. This deal is better than that but being better than utter shite still makes this deal shite.

What we have now is a perfect halfway house for 2 of 3 partoes. SjR has ‘footballing control’ at a fraction of the cost he probably thought he would have to stump up, the Glazers get to profit most from any potential successes in the future & pocket a hefty sum from SjR.

What about the 3rd party. Manchester United. Well theres this £300mil investment people are getting excited over, which dwindles in comparison to what the Glazers have A) given themselves in dividends over the years; B) the money the Glazers will pocket from selling the shares; C) How does £300mil make a dent in the squad &/or the infrastructure of the club which once best in class is now middling.

My problem with a deal of this type from the off is it puts SjR & The Glazers at the forefront. Like it or not a full sale would have still seen the Glazers pocket a tidy sum but would have seen the club rid of their cloud but what we have now puts the club firmly 3rd on the podium after todays announcement.

Edit: Can’t believe I forgot to mention this. The fecking debt, yea that’s still there whilst the Glazers sold shares for pure profit. Feck this deal.
Significant reduction in Glazer ownership

Complete reduction in Glazer medling

Significant initial investment

As for "shown principles and walked away" can you explain further? Are you saying you would have preferred the Glazers to stay or is it that you wanted the Qataris who presumably would have been up to 4 times less principled that Jim?
 

JagUTD

Full Member
Joined
Sep 20, 2022
Messages
3,223
There are several positives in the deal. For one the Glazers had lost control over the football side of things which, tbf, had been heavily neglected through the years. Then there's those 300m in investment which is a piss in a pot considering the grand scheme of things but is the first cash injection United owners had been engaged in for decades.

However unless there's a clear path for full ownership then I can't see United returning to the glory days.
Not a clear path officially but you can see from the details that the path is there. As soon as the rumours of them giving up football operations started, that was it. Now we have that in writing it's safe to assume their exit is now a matter of time.

Investment has to come over time as well though due to financial rules so nobody should be worried about the initial figure. You can't just dump 2billion into a club all at once.
 

Kaos

Full Member
Joined
May 6, 2007
Messages
31,791
Location
Ginseng Strip
I don't know if im desperate enough to consider this good news, or go with my initial instinct and see this as yet another nail in the coffin, especially when we were so close to getting rid of these parasites who were on their knees. I concede that the club desperately needs a change of direction, almost any change, but I'm not convinced that giving the Glazers an essential prolonged lease of life could be considered a good thing either.

I guess if Jim starts to up his stake over time to an eventual majority takeover then I'll start to feel heaps more optimistic, but until then the whole thing still feels a little sordid to me.
 
Joined
Jun 26, 2014
Messages
22,148
Location
Behind the right goal post as "Whiteside shoots!"
Kaveh Solhekol just basically took apart the whole thing on SSN, pointing-out all the sporting failures of INEOS in various sports as well as the level of investment needed to repair the damage caused by the fecking Glazers over the last 18 years, and the remaining questions about the debt, etc.
He’s that miserable sensationalist guy on SKY yeah? Always felt he reported on us with a slant (not objectively, glass half empty).
 

devilish

Juventus fan who used to support United
Joined
Sep 5, 2002
Messages
61,701
Not a clear path officially but you can see from the details that the path is there. As soon as the rumours of them giving up football operations started, that was it. Now we have that in writing it's safe to assume their exit is now a matter of time.

Investment has to come over time as well though due to financial rules so nobody should be worried about the initial figure. You can't just dump 2billion into a club all at once.
Can you please explain me these details please. I am not being sarcastic or anything like that. I want to spend the Christmas with less things to worry about

The football side is something the Glazers had never given a feck about. Else they wouldn't have kept Woodward and Murtough for this long
 

Rustyspider13

Full Member
Joined
Oct 17, 2020
Messages
2,342
No one knows whether it'll work out, but for now, it's good news. Anything that changes the current structure of the club is good news. I hope SJR cares about the football club. The biggest sin of the Glazers is that they didn't care. They let incompetent people do whatever they wanted with the club's money and didn't care as long as their dividends rolled in. I really, really hope SJR cares and is willing to admit mistakes (which will surely be made) quickly and change when necessary. I can't handle another tenure like the decade of Woodward.
 

RonaldoVII

Full Member
Joined
Aug 29, 2008
Messages
24,259
Location
PSN:FrozenInHell
Would've preferred a full sale, more guaranteed investment and zero club debt but at least it's a move forward. Hopefully Jim sorts us out and fecks of the Glazers once and for all in the next few years.
 

JagUTD

Full Member
Joined
Sep 20, 2022
Messages
3,223
Class a shares have 1/9 of the votes which means that they are irrelevant in the grand scheme. So I'd say 25% of Class B which makes him the leading shareholder if everyone is seen as an individual but still a minority shareholder to the glazers
They are all individuals. There is no such thing as the Glazer Family as a single entity. Tbh I don't even think they like each other, remember reading they barely even speak to each other and when they do meet, they have their lawyers with them.
 

devilish

Juventus fan who used to support United
Joined
Sep 5, 2002
Messages
61,701
The Glazers have always spent money on players, but it seemed they had the idea that spending lots of money on players was all that was required and the football would take care of itself. It's clear this isn't so. Provided the football side of things is run well enough to bring sustained success on the pitch, the Glazers have shown they are quite capable on the commercial side of the business. These will be interesting times.
First of all them being good commercial wise is a myth. United was already a commercial juggernaut by the time they bought us and the Glazers were lucky to be riding the EPL money wave on the biggest and meanest super yacht in football. Actually prior to them coming, we were the top dogs commercial wise. These days our infrastructure is rotting, we're serving raw chicken to customers, our debt keep piling up and we're losing money. That's hardly the gold standard of running a club commercially
 

devilish

Juventus fan who used to support United
Joined
Sep 5, 2002
Messages
61,701
They are all individuals. There is no such thing as the Glazer Family as a single entity. Tbh I don't even think they like each other, remember reading they barely even speak to each other and when they do meet, they have their lawyers with them.
That's why I formed that post the way that I did. If they work as a family then the Glazers are still the majority shareholders. If not then these will be interested times
 
Status
Not open for further replies.