Manchester United bidder Sir Jim Ratcliffe has
suffered a double financial blow - and it could impact his ability to purchase
the Red Devils.
Sir Jim is looking to takeover
United through his INEOS group, who already invest in numerous sports –
including F1 and rugby. However, Ratcliffe's two major chemical firms have
recorded net losses in the second quarter of 2023.
According to Bloomberg, both INEOS Group Holdings SA and
INEOS Quattro Holdings Ltd recorded losses, the first time it's happened at the
two firms since the second quarter of 2020.
INEOS' bondholders remain 'quite relaxed' due
to its cash reserves, but it still could be a major blow to his takeover hopes,
with the Glazers upping their asking price.
It's unclear if the Glazers will now sell United - with
recent reports suggesting they've upped their asking price to £10billion, with
the buyer also having to take on £1billion worth of debt.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe is also facing competition
from Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani.
However, Ratcliffe won't be deterred so easily with his
takeover efforts, and in a recent interview with INEOS he doubled down on his
bid.
He said as cited by Sports Central: "The
Manchester United bid would have been unthinkable two or three years ago if we
hadn’t had some of experiences - some quite difficult experiences with Lausanne
and Nice. "You can’t really contemplate acquiring a brand like Manchester
United and failing because the failure is just far too public and excruciating
in a deal like that."
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