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Jim Ratcliffe, the CEO of INEOS Group, has acquired a 25 per cent stake in iconic England football club Manchester United and has also taken over the control of football operations, reported Sky Sports.
An announcement came on Christmas Eve, putting an end to 13 months of talks about a takeover of the Old Trafford Club. Ratcliffe is acquiring the interest for 33 USD-a-share (26 GBP) in a deal that will "include all aspects of the men's and women's football operations and academies" for his INEOS Group, as per a statement, as per Sky Sports. It is also expected that the Manchester United club board will have Dave Brailsford - INEOS director of sport - and Jean-Claude Blanc - CEO of INEOS Sport and a former executive at Juventus and Paris Saint Germain (PSG) clubs, having the seats. The deal comes amid a disappointing season for the club on-field and is yet to get an approval from the Premier League, which could take anywhere between six to eight weeks. Manchester United crashed out of the UEFA Champions League in the Group Stage itself with just one win in six matches. In the Premier League table, they are placed eighth with nine wins, a draw and eight losses in 18 games, giving them a total of 28 points. They are 12 points below the table-toppers Arsenal. There is no formal agreement for Ratcliffe to buy any of the shares owned by the Glazers' (the owners of the club) in the future but the Ineos chairman has the right of first refusal on any they sell in the future, as per Sky Sports. Through this deal, Ratcliffe will inject 300m USD (237m GBP) into the club for investment in its infrastructure, taking his immediate outlay to roughly 1.5bn USD (1.2bn GBP). Via Ratcliffe's INEOS Sport, United has said they "will have access to seasoned high-performance professionals, experienced in creating and leading elite teams from both inside and outside the game". The club's home arena of Old Trafford is likely to need far more than 245m GBP to undergo an overhaul that will turn it into one of the best stadiums in the world once again, as per Sky Sports. The billionaire Ratcliffe will be financing the redevelopment personally and it would not add to the club's existing borrowings. (ANI)
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