Leon Cooperman, an American billionaire and former hedge fund manager has reportedly taken up a late stake in Manchester United.
This new development comes even as Sir Jim Ratcliffe closes in on a partial investment into United that will essentially make him a minority owner.
Since the Glazers announced that they would be seeking strategic alternatives including a full or partial sale of the club almost a year ago, Sir Jim had been in close competition with Qatari royal Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani to take over the reins at Old Trafford.
Sheikh Jassim’s withdrawal from the takeover race ultimately left the door ajar for Sir Jim to swoop in, with his offer for investment being viewed as the most desirable option by the Glazers.
It’s expected that the INEOS billionaire will be granted control of United’s sporting operations.
An official announcement on the arrangement between Sir Jim and the Glazer family is expected to be made public in the coming days.
According to Bloomberg, Leon Cooperman has taken a late stake in the Red Devils.
The business journal reports, “Billionaire and former hedge fund manager Leon Cooperman has taken a late stake in Manchester United, the football club that’s nearing the end of a yearlong bidding war.”
“Cooperman reported a position of just under 1 million shares currently valued at $16.8 million, according to a recent filing. With a net worth of $2.6 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Cooperman is the founder of New York-based Omega Advisors who converted his hedge fund firm into a family office in 2018.”
As per Bloomberg, filings from earlier this year indicate that a number of hedge funds such as Psquared Asset Management AG and Antara Capital, took stakes in United.
The Mirror reveals that it’s likely that Sir Jim will now work with Cooperman.
Cooperman is a graduate of Columbia who then went on to work for Goldman Sachs before becoming chairman and chief executive officer of the investment banking giant.
He spent 25 years at Goldman Sachs before retiring and then establishing Omega Adivsors Inc.