FA approves Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Man Utd stake purchase as deal nears completion

Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s purchase of a 25 per cent stake in Manchester United has received FA approval (Peter Byrne/PA)

The Football Association has approved Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s purchase of a 25 per cent stake in Manchester United.

Confirmation that the Premier League had given its backing to the deal was contained within an update to the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday evening.

A further SEC update has now revealed that approval from the FA has also been obtained as completion edges closer.

Within an amended tender offer statement published on Wednesday afternoon came confirmation that the national governing body’s approval “has already been obtained”.

A statement from the FA read: “The FA can confirm that the Barclays Women’s Super League and Barclays Women’s Championship board have approved the acquisition by Sir Jim Ratcliffe of Manchester United Football Club in relation to its Manchester United Women’s entity.

“This follows confirmation from the Premier League that the acquisition, and further investment of 300 million US dollars, had been approved by the Premier League Board following the completion of the Owners’ and Directors’ Test (OADT).

“The FA now awaits confirmation of the transaction’s completion.”

The green light from the FA is one of the last remaining steps but the deal cannot be completed until the tender offer for Class A shares is finalised.

The period in which holders of Class A shares can tender them for sale has been extended from February 14 until 23:59 on February 16.

The PA news agency understands that completion of the deal is unlikely to immediately follow the closure of the tender offer but looks likely to come next week.

The latest SEC filing shows that the number of Class A shares