The latest filing from the US Securities and Exchange Commission reveals that Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Manchester United investment has moved a step closer.
The British billionaire has acquired 25% of the Red Devils, but the Premier League has yet to ratify the deal since an agreement between the Glazers and OGC Nice owner was announced on Christmas Eve.
Daily Mail journalist Chris Wheeler has now taken to social media platform X to share a picture confirming the latest SEC filing.
Man United held a shareholders meeting yesterday, where those with 1,133,983,149 votes of the Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares were present in person or represented by proxy.
As revealed in the results seen above, the votes were in favour of allowing Ratcliffe to take Class B shares with enhanced voting power, which is another major step in the completion process.
The boyhood Man United fan spent £1.25 billion in acquiring his stakes and has pledged up to £245 million towards infrastructure work and improvements at Old Trafford and the Carrington Training Centre.
Being able to acquire Class B shares and retain their enhanced voting power was a major prerequisite in his agreement with the Man United owners, but the process to allow it to happen required a voting process.
While most of the Class A shareholders voted against the proposal, all Class B shareholders voted for it, which has now brought Ratcliffe a step closer to formally completing the deal.
The businessman and his team have already started work and taken over the football operations of the Red Devils, with the appointment of former Manchester City chief Omar Berrada as the new Chief Executive Officer of Man United.
They also plan to appoint a new director of football within the next few weeks. Newcastle United’s director of football Dan Ashworth and former Liverpool sporting director Julian Ward are favourites for the job.
