By all indications, British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe is still set to buy a 25% minority ownership stake in Manchester United for north of $1.5 billion. But as that deal heads toward the finish line, the Premier League giant just got another significant investor.
American hedge fund manager Leon Cooperman has purchased about 1 million shares of the club.
Manchester United closed at $18.43 on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday, and has been relatively flat in recent months. Cooperman, 80, has a reported net worth of about $2.6 billion.
Earlier this week, it was revealed that another Manchester United backer — Chicago-based Ariel Investments — reduced its position by 831,000 shares, or 13%, during the third quarter of this year. Ariel now holds nearly 5.7 million shares and is the club’s second-largest institutional shareholder behind British investment management company Lindsell Train.
More Change At The Top
On Wednesday, Manchester United announced that CEO Richard Arnold was stepping down after 16 years with the club. The move had been expected as part of Ratcliffe’s deal. Manchester United executive Patrick Stewart takes over as interim CEO, but the club says it will conduct a search for a permanent replacement.
Ratcliffe has also been reported to be taking over sporting operations for the club as he looks to quell fans’ concerns about the Glazer family retaining majority ownership of the club.
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