British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe’s company, INEOS, has officially entered the bidding process to purchase Premier League club Manchester United, The Times reported on Wednesday. This move follows the Glazer family’s announcement in November 2022 that they were considering new investment opportunities or potentially selling the club.
“We have formally put ourselves into the process,” a spokesperson for INEOS confirmed, without providing additional details. Ratcliffe, who is the majority shareholder of INEOS, already owns French club Nice, Swiss club Lausanne-Sport, the Ineos Grenadiers cycling team, and has a partnership with the Mercedes F1 team.
He had shown interest in acquiring Manchester United earlier in the summer. In August, a spokesperson for Ratcliffe told CNN Sport, “We are simply confirming interest in the club if it is for sale.”
Forbes values Manchester United at $4.6 billion. The club, owned by the Glazer family—who also own the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers—is one of the most prominent soccer clubs globally but has not won the English Premier League since 2013.
In May, Ratcliffe bid to buy Chelsea FC but was unsuccessful, losing to the Todd Boehly consortium.