Wayne and Coleen Rooney will take a stake in protein powder company Applied Nutrition when it floats in London this month.
The listing, which will value the JD Sports-backed group at up to £400m, will give Liverpool founder Thomas Ryder an immediate windfall of up to £94m, while still owning shares worth £120m.
Ryder, 40, a father-of-four who left school at 16, has a 53.5 per cent stake, worth up to £214m.
Inset: Former England footballer Wayne Rooney and his wife Coleen (pictured) will invest in protein powder company Applied Nutrition when it floats in London this month
He will reduce his ownership to 30 percent through the so-called Initial Public Offer (IPO).
As well as former England footballer Rooney, 38, and his wife Coleen, also 38 – a brand ambassador for the company – other major backers will invest £25m.
Billionaire Mohsin Issa, who resigned as CEO of Asda last month, has pledged to buy £10 million worth of shares.
Construction entrepreneur William Ainscough, the boss of housebuilder Wain Group, will buy a £4m stake.
Tom Morris, the retail billionaire who founded Home Bargains – another Liverpool success story – will invest £6m.
Liverpool property magnate George Downing, who made an unsuccessful bid for Everton Football Club this year, plans to buy £5 million worth of shares.
Applied Nutrition said on Wednesday it would offer up to 137,408,477 shares at a price range of 136p to 160p, implying a value of £340m to £400m.
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