In an effort to end the deadlock over ownership, Sir Jim Ratcliffe‘s Ineos Group is debating whether to make an offer to purchase a small minority stake in Manchester United.
The club’s owners, the Glazer family, declared in November that they were looking into selling United as they “explore strategic alternatives.”
There was a rush of interest as a result, but only two offers came in: one from Ineos and the other from Qatari Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani. Both proposals were about £5 billion.
Sheikh Jassim’s team has consistently insisted that he was only interested in purchasing a 100% stake in the club. Ratcliffe, though, said he desired a majority ownership.
However, following what felt like the Glazers’ inaction for months, British industrialist Ratcliffe is now considering an alternative strategy.
Buying a minority stake may not go down well with United supporters, who have held demonstrations against the Glazer family inside and outside Old Trafford.
Ratcliffe may regard this method as his best way of securing the ownership in the long term.
The move would allow the Glazer family to retain a significant shareholding in United, although the precise details of any deal remain unclear.
