One of Britain’s richest man and Mallorca home owner, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, has made a fresh bid for Manchester United football club.
Ratcliffe's company INEOS has formally entered the bidding process to buy the club, a spokesperson for the chemical firm said on Tuesday.
The Glazer family, United's U.S. owners, said in November they had begun looking at options for the 20-times English champions, including new investment or a potential sale, 17 years after they bought the Old Trafford club.
In August, British billionaire Ratcliffe, a long-time fan of the club, expressed interest in buying United, Reuters reported.
"I can confirm that we have formally put ourselves into the process," an INEOS spokesperson said in a statement on Tuesday. United declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.
Ratcliffe, 70, was born in Failsworth in Greater Manchester. He founded the INEOS chemicals group in 1998 and is the company's chairman and chief executive officer with a two-thirds stake.
According to Forbes, he has a net worth of $15.5 billion, making him the 112th-richest person in the world and one of Britain's most wealthy businessmen. Ratcliffe is the first potential bidder to publicly declare an interest in purchasing Manchester United.
In August, Reuters reported that Ratcliffe had expressed an interest in buying United. Last year, Ratcliffe failed in an attempt to buy Chelsea, which was purchased by an investment group led by American Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital.
WHAT DOES INEOS MAKE?
INEOS Group Limited is a British multinational chemicals company headquartered and registered in London. The name INEOS was derived from INspec Ethylene Oxide and Specialities, a previous name of the business. As of 2021, it is the fourth-largest chemical company in the world.
The BBC reported INEOS generates sales of around 50 billion pounds ($62 billion) and employs more than 26,000 people.
According to the company's website, INEOS comprises 36 businesses with 194 sites in 29 countries throughout the world and also encompasses consumer brands and sports interests. Its raw materials are used in packaging for toiletries, medicines and food, mobile phones and furniture.
HAS INEOS INVESTED IN SPORTS BEFORE?
The chemical firm has for a long time been involved in the world of sports, with links to Formula One, cycling, sailing, soccer and rugby.
INEOS is the principal partner to eight-times F1 champions Mercedes and a one-third shareholder of the team which is owned in three equal parts by Mercedes-Benz Group AG, INEOS and Toto Wolff.
INEOS owns French Ligue 1 club Nice, Swiss Super League side FC Lausanne-Sport and works with partner club Racing Club Abidjan of Ivory Coast Ligue One.
The company is the official performance partner to the New Zealand rugby national team, who are popularly known as the All Blacks. Their sporting portfolio also includes the INEOS Grenadiers, one of the world's most successful cycling teams which has its winter training camps in Mallorca.
INEOS Britannia is a British sailing team that is the challenger of record for the 37th America's Cup which has been training in Palma for the past few months.