Finnish businessman Thomas Zilliacus claims to have made a special offer to purchase half of Manchester United and that he will permit supporters to purchase the remaining shares.
Zilliacus has made a proposal through XXI Century Capital, an investment company owned by his holding company.
Thomas Zilliacus is the chairman of the social media organization novaM Group.
The Finn’s bid is distinctive because it involves his supporters, who would be given the opportunity to invest in the team and exercise equal voting rights via an app.
According to a statement issued on Thursday: “Any sport club ultimately should belong to its fans. The current development, where billionaire sheikhs and oligarchs take over clubs and control them as their personal playgrounds is not a healthy trend.”
Zilliacus currently owns the six-time champion Jokerit of Finland and previously served as chairman of the Finnish team HJK Helsinki.
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He continued by outlining his goals for United, “The current market value of the club is just under 3.9 billion USD. That means that if every one of the fans of the club would join in buying the club, the total sum per fan would amount to less than 6 dollars. My bid is built on equality with the fans.
“My group will finance half of the sum needed to take over the club, and will ask the fans, through a new company that is being set up for this specific purpose, to participate for the other half. If every fan joins it means less than 3 dollars per fan. Each fan who joins will have access to an app which the fan, from anywhere in the world, can use to participate and cast his vote when deciding on footballing matters relating to the club. No decisions will be taken that are not supported by a majority of the fan base.”
Zilliacus has also stated his desire to use United as a catalyst to end rampant online abuse.
“Manchester United should not only be the best football club in the world, it should also be the leading club in the world in working to stop abuse, racism and hate speech in social media and on sports grounds.”
