Whispers of unrest among the Glazers will inevitably lead to speculation over the future of Manchester United, especially during a period when Sir Jim Ratcliffe could be dragged into a sale of the club.
On Wednesday night, it emerged that members of the Glazer family were studying the stock market with the idea of potentially selling their stake at Manchester United.
This might be enough to excite some United fans, but the issue is that the Glazers vote as a bloc. They would all need to be on the same page.
There is also a clause that could effectively force co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe to sell the entirety of his minority stake as part of a full takeover of the club.
Bloomberg reports members of the Glazer family are considering selling up: What are your thoughts?
Do you have any faith this could be a full sale, or are we looking at a gradual share sell-off?
Sir Jim Ratcliffe may be compelled to go along with Man Utd takeover attempts
Unless Ratcliffe plans to eventually complete a full takeover of United, the British billionaire may have no other choice but to sell his stake if the Glazers decide to cash in.
That must be a concern for Ratcliffe at a time he is planning to move United from Old Trafford to a new 100,000-capacity stadium.
If the six Glazer siblings were to accept an offer above $33 per share for outright control of United, then Ratcliffe would have his hands tied as he’d be legally obliged to sell.
To get a better understanding of the Glazers’ drag-along rights, Adam Williams, Head of Football Finance and Governance at GRV Media, told United In Focus: “The drag-along rights, as they’re called in business, are a matter of public record, detailed in the SEC filings that United are obliged to make by virtue of being on the New York Stock Exchange.
“Under those terms, the Glazers can drag Ratcliffe into a full sale of the club, as long as it is 18 months after his investment was made. We’re a few months out from that juncture now.
“Also, there is another timeline in the rights that stipulates that, if the Glazers sell before February 2027, the price Ratcliffe gets per share must be $33 per share or more, which is what he paid, so he’d at least make his money back. If a sale goes through after February 2027, however, they can drag him into a sale at whatever price they like.
“So, the Glazers basically have the high card. If the board – which is made up of six Glazers, two Ineos representatives and two non-executives – accepts an offer that is within the scope of the drag-along rights, Ratcliffe would be compelled to go along with it, whether he likes it or not.
“One thing I would note, however, is that the language in the Bloomberg report, as well as everything I hear about the family dynamics, suggests that it is not all of the Glazers who want to sell – and the ones that are considering it could just part with a fraction of their shares, rather than divest completely.
“The Glazers aren’t an amorphous blob. Some of them are more interested in United than others, and the decision to sell to Ratcliffe was only reached after a lot of disagreements between them. We’ve seen Kevin and Edward Glazer sell off some of their shares before; it’s a way of realising some of the value of their investment without exiting completely.
“And because the drag-along rights cover a full sale rather than one or two Glazers divesting a few million shares, they might not tell us much about how this will play out in practice.”
- ⚡️ NEWS IN BRIEF
- Sir Jim Ratcliffe would be compelled to accept a takeover attempt if shares are bought at $33 per share or higher
- The deadline for the drag-along rights is February 2027
- The Glazers hold the key
The 1958 have launched a blistering attack on the way Sir Jim Ratcliffe is running Man Utd
What is your view? Have your say and don't hold back!
“After lurching from one disaster to another, Ratcliffe comes across as an incompetent clown turning the club into a circus. Instead of best in class we’re a laughing stock.”
The 1958
Sir Jim Ratcliffe avoided nightmare at Nice
Ineos-owned Nice narrowly avoided relegation from Ligue 1 this past season.
The French side finished the campaign in 16th, beating Ligue 2 outfit St, Etienne 4-1 on aggregate to remain in the top flight.
That means Nice will pocket £18.2m in prize money after steering clear of relegation.
There have been many protests against Ineos’ ownership at Nice, with fans storming the training ground in 2025.
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