January 20th 2024.
It looks like there could be a big payday on the horizon for a former chief executive of a popular football club. Reports are indicating that Ed Wooward, who was the former chief executive of Manchester United, could stand to make millions from a deal with Sir Jim Ratcliffe. Ratcliffe is the founder of Ineos and is currently awaiting approval from the Premier League for his proposed purchase of a 25% stake in the club. This deal would also give him control over sporting matters.
Ratcliffe was recently spotted attending United's last home game against Tottenham, where he spoke to journalists about the deal. He mentioned that it should be finalized within the next month, stating, "Early to mid-Feb, we hope." He also jokingly added, "We hope they don't find anything dodgy in our CV!" As Britain's second-richest man, Ratcliffe stands to benefit greatly from this deal, but he's not the only one.
The majority owners of the club, the Glazer family, will be the biggest beneficiaries of this deal. However, other members of United's much-criticized hierarchy are also in line for a windfall. According to The Times, two senior executives will receive seven-figure bonuses from the sale. This includes interim chief executive Patrick Stewart and chief financial officer Cliff Baty, who will both earn bonuses equivalent to twice their annual salary. This means that Stewart could potentially receive a bonus of over £3 million, based on his predecessor's previous salary of £1.9 million.
In addition to these bonuses, Woodward, who still holds over 550,000 shares in the club, is also expected to cash in on this deal. With Ratcliffe's offer of $33 per share, which is 63% higher than the current stock price on the New York Stock Exchange, Woodward stands to make a substantial amount of money. If he sells 25% of his shares, he could potentially earn around $4.55 million while still retaining 75% of his original shareholding.
Details of the bonuses for Stewart and Baty were revealed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that was released last week. The filing stated that, "In December 2023, we entered into amendments to our existing employment agreements with Patrick Stewart, our interim chief executive officer and general counsel, and Cliff Baty, our chief financial officer, to, among other things, provide for the payment of a completion bonus following the occurrence of the closing. Each completion bonus is equal to two times the annual salary of such executive officer as of the date of the closing."
It's clear that this deal will not only benefit Ratcliffe, but also other top executives and former employees of Manchester United. With the potential for a major shake-up in the club's ownership and leadership, it will be interesting to see how this affects future decisions and strategies. As always, the world of football never fails to surprise us.
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