American billionaire investor Leon Cooperman has secured a stake in Manchester United as Sir Jim Ratcliffe edges towards a deal.
Cooperman, 80, has purchased one million shares in the Red Devils valued at around $16.8 million (£13.4m), as per a recent filing. The founder of New York-based Omega Advisors, he is thought to have a net worth of $2.6 billion (£2.08bn).
The news comes amid suggestions that INEOS owner Ratcliffe was closing in on a deal to invest in the club. He was one of the parties interested in completing a full takeover from the much-maligned Glazer family alongside Qatari Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani.
The latter pulled out of the race, leaving Ratcliffe free to complete a deal. Negotiations are ongoing for him to buy 25 percent of the Old Trafford club and an announcement is expected soon.
Once a deal is completed, the 71-year-old is expected to take full control of the footballing operations at Old Trafford. He will now also likely work in tandemn with Cooperman after his own deal.
A graduate of Columbia, he was very quickly snapped up by Goldman Sachs and worked his way up to become chairman and chief executive officer of Goldman Sachs Asset Management. After 25 years with the company, he retired and then established private investment partnership, Omega Advisors. Cooperman retired in 2016.
He has also regularly donated to the Saint Barnabas Medical Center. Since 2014, the Leon and Toby Cooperman Family Foundation has pledged around $125million. Cooperman also serves as a board member for the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation.
While the news of his deal for a stake of Man United will be welcomed by fans, Gary Neville is unlikely to be satisfied. The former England defender shared a huge list of concerns last month amid suggestions that Ratcliffe was set to invest.
Taking to Twitter, he wrote: “My preference is and always will be now for a Glazer family full exit. They have overstayed their welcome in Manchester yet seem oblivious to this fact.”
He added: “The news last night of the Qatari withdrawal leaves Manchester United on the brink of a minority investment. Can this really work and what impact will it have on a struggling organisation? It’s worth setting out my non-negotiables on a takeover of Manchester United that I made over a year ago.”