Latham & Watkins Advises Manchester United in Acquisition of a Minority Stake by INEOS Chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe

Manchester United plc (NYSE: MANU), has announced that it has entered into an agreement under which Chairman of INEOS, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, will acquire 25% of Manchester United’s Class B shares and up to 25% of Manchester United’s Class A shares and provide an additional US$300 million intended to enable future investment into Old Trafford. As part of the transaction, INEOS has accepted a request by the Board to be delegated responsibility for the management of the Club’s football operations. This will include all aspects of the men's and women's football operations and Academies, alongside two seats on the Manchester United PLC board and the Manchester United Football Club boards. Completion of the deal is subject to receiving all necessary regulatory approvals including from the Premier League. 

Latham & Watkins LLP represents Manchester United in the transaction with a corporate deal team led by New York M&A partners Justin Hamill, Ian Nussbaum, and Robert Katz, with Chicago associate Sean Parish, Century City associate Shelton Taylor*, and New York associate Sara Brown. Advice was also provided on capital markets matters by New York partners Marc Jaffe, Ian Schuman, and Benjamin Cohen, Washington, D.C. partner Brian Miller, London partner Gabriel Lakeman, and New York counsel Lindsey Mills, with New York associates Kaj Nielsen, Roger Yarett, Brian Yoon, Yulong Li; on UK matters by London corporate partner Edward Barnett and entertainment, sports & media partner Patrick Mitchell, with associates Chris Ramsey and Stewart Robinson; on tax matters by New York partners Jiyeon Lee-Lim and Eric Kamerman, and London partner Sean Finn, with associate Thomas O’Malley; on UK executive compensation and benefits matters by London partner Sarah Gadd, with associates Paul Lawrence and Joseph Goddard; on US executive compensation and benefits matters by New York partners Bradd Williamson and Megan Alessi, and Counsel Rifka Singer, with associates Alisa Hand and Seokwon Lee; on Antitrust matters by Washington, D.C. partner Makan Delrahim, New York partner Katherine Rocco, Brussels partner Sven Völcker, London partner Jonathan Parker and Washington, D.C. counsel Patrick English, with Washington, D.C. associate Doug Tifft, and London associate James Mathieson; on real estate matters by London partner Quentin Gwyer, with associate Danni Davies; on UK finance matters by London partner Manoj Bhundia, with associate Philipp Hagenbuch; on US finance matters by New York partner Stephanie Teicher, with Houston associate Richard Burks; on data privacy matters by Bay Area partner Robert Blamires, with San Diego associate Kathryn Parsons-Reponte and New York associate Dyllan Brown-Bramble; on IP matters by New York partner Jeffery Tochner, with associates Dewey Kang and Alan Kim; and on litigation matters by Orange County partner Kristin Murphy, San Diego partner Colleen Smith, and New York partner John Pierce, with Orange County associates Ryan Walsh and Scott Levinson.

*Admitted to practice in New York