SUMMARY
- The fourth-largest chemical company in the world was founded by Sir Jim Ratcliffe in 1998 and is known for investing in various sports across the world.
- Sir Jim Ratcliffe has a background in chemical engineering, which helped him in founding the INEOS group in 1998.
INEOS is a name that rose in prominence in 2023 in the soccer community. The British multinational conglomerate is a global chemical company that operates 36 businesses with 194 sites in 29 countries throughout the world.
The fourth-largest chemical company in the world was founded by Sir Jim Ratcliffe in 1998 and is known for investing in various sports across the world, including soccer, rugby, cycling, sailing, and Formula One. In soccer, INEOS has made a major investment in Ligue 1 side OGC Nice and Swiss Super League side FC Lausanne-Sport. Their next big investment came in 2023 when Sir Jim Ratcliffe acquired a 25% stake in Manchester United.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s role at INEOS
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has a background in chemical engineering, which helped him in founding the INEOS group in 1998. He is the current chairman and CEO of the group. The British billionaire’s passion for different sports fueled the group’s ambition to invest in different sports.
🔴 INEOS’ Sir Dave Brailsford watching Nottingham Forest with Sir Alex Ferguson at the City Ground tonight. pic.twitter.com/mfSQ7VZk11
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 30, 2023
The investment in FC Lausanne-Sport came in 2017, while the group bought OGC Nice in 2019. Ratcliffe was also interested in buying Chelsea in 2022; however, his bid of $5.4 billion was rejected by Roman Abramovich. The unsuccessful bid for Chelsea prompted Ratcliffe to move toward Manchester United.
INEOS stake at Manchester United
Ratcliffe is a childhood supporter of Manchester United, which was one of the reasons why INEOS pushed to invest in Manchester United. The formal intent of the group was announced in January 2023, but the whole process took the whole year to be formally completed.
On December 24, 2023, INEOS announced that Sir Jim Ratcliffe had acquired a 25% stake in the English club by purchasing Class B shares held by the Glazer family and up to 25 percent of Manchester United’s Class A shares. Apart from the acquisition of the minority stake, an additional $300 million is also invested into the club for upgrading the home stadium, Old Trafford.
🚨🔴 Manchester United also announce that “Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS group will provide an additional $300 million intended to enable future investment into Old Trafford”. pic.twitter.com/31nU4kiwe8
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 24, 2023
As part of the transaction, the INEOS group also took control of the management of the club’s soccer operations. The group will now control all aspects and operations of men’s as well as women’s teams and academies. The group also takes control of two seats on the Manchester United PLC board and the Manchester United soccer Club boards.
The Glazers’ family joins hands with a group that has a wealth of commercial experience as well as a team of seasoned high-performance professionals who are experienced in building high-quality teams. Sir Jim Ratcliffe acknowledges the commercial success of Manchester United in the last decade but points out that the on-field performances have not met the potential of the squad and the past investment.
The INEOS group has joined Manchester United for the long term, but there are a lot of challenges in the way of restoring the English club to its previous heights. 2024 will be the first year of the Sir Jim Ratcliffe era, as Erik ten Hag looks to steer the club toward stability in the second half of the season.