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Manchester United paid for 56 lawyers to work on the deal that will see INEOS buy a minority stake in the club.
INEOS, the petrochemicals firm owned by British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, agreed to purchase 25 per cent of United for around £1.3billion ($1.64bn) after a nearly year-long negotiation.
The transaction will not be formally completed until it has been ratified by the Premier League, with Ratcliffe saying on Sunday he hopes that will happen early next month.
Latham & Watkins LLP were hired to represent United, having previously advised TeamViewer on their front-of-shirt sponsorship deal with the club ahead of the 2021-22 season.
The cost of the legal firm’s advice will be paid for by United, as opposed to the Glazer family which owns the Premier League side — although they will foot the bill for the personal advice they received during the strategic review process.
Costs associated with the transaction are expected to be visible in the club’s accounts in due course and will also include fees for financial advisers.
Latham & Watkins’ corporate deal team for the 25 per cent sale was led by New York M&A (merger and acquisition) partners Justin Hamill, Ian Nussbaum, and Robert Katz, along with Chicago associate Sean Parish, Century City associate Shelton Taylor and New York associate Sara Brown.
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Manchester United Plc, the club’s ultimate parent company, is incorporated in the Cayman Islands and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), both factors which added to the complexity of the deal. This meant United also had to adhere to US SEC (United States Securities and Exchange Commission) and NYSE rules.
Latham & Watkins’ advice included capital markets matters, UK matters, tax matters, executive compensation and benefits matters, real estate matters, US finance matters, and, among many other matters, data privacy.
Lawyers from London, New York, Washington, D.C., Houston, San Diego, Orange County, Washington, and Brussels all worked on the transaction.
Ratcliffe has already started work at United, having visited the Old Trafford stadium and Carrington training base in recent weeks. His minority stake will give him sporting control of the club.
The Monaco-based billionaire has held lengthy talks with Erik ten Hag, which the United manager described as “very positive”.
Ten Hag said: “Many hours we sit together, many issues we were on the same page. Was a very constructive meeting, we look forward to working with each other.”
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(Michael Steele/Getty Images)
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