Manchester United Financial Thread

Last official thing in the Media was " Still on ice"
http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereve...r-uniteds-far-east-float-plan-is-still-on-ice

Man Utd drop Asia IPO for US listing

Wednesday, June 13 15:49:19
Manchester United, the world's best supported soccer club, has ditched its plans for an Asian stock market flotation and is preparing to list in the United States, according to sources with knowledge of the deal.

After first eyeing a Hong Kong IPO, the former English soccer champions had planned a $1 billion listing in Singapore in the second half of last year before putting plans on hold because of market turmoil.

United, which has been English league champions a record 19 times and features players such as England's Wayne Rooney, declined to comment on the report. The club's American proprietors, the Glazer family, are well known in the United States as owners of American football team the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, as well as First Allied Corp, which owns and leases shopping centres.

However, they have faced opposition from United fans after taking over the club in 2005 in a leveraged buyout that left it saddled with hefty debt repayments.

Adding to fans' unease, United lost their Premier League title to local rivals Manchester City last month, a club bankrolled by Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, one of Abu Dhabi's ruling family. As a result of its change of listing location, Manchester United is expected to make changes to its bookrunning syndicate for the deal. Credit Suisse, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley were originally mandated as bookrunners for the Singapore listing, but sources said this line-up might change.

Jefferies has also joined the deal, the sources said.

The banks on the deal did not respond to requests for comment.

A recent survey by Forbes rated United as the world's most highly valued sports team. Unlike many English clubs, United are profitable, though their earnings were dented last season by their failure to win a trophy for the first time since 2005.

A study commissioned by the club showed its global fan base had doubled to 659 million people between 2007 and 2012.

Underlining the club's commercial appeal, it signed a sponsorship deal with General Motors, the world's largest automaker, last month and has commercial partners in more than 70 countries. United built a big fan base following its recovery from the Munich air disaster in 1958 when eight of its gifted young team perished. Within a decade, United had won the European Cup for the first time with a team featuring Bobby Charlton and George Best and managed by Matt Busby, badly injured in Munich.

The news will be another blow to equity capital markets in Asia, where deal volumes have fallen sharply this year, excluding Malaysia.

Manchester United's decision is particularly bad news for Singapore, where motor racing company Formula One delayed its planned $3 billion IPO in June, sources told Reuters.
Bankers in Asia were sceptical about Manchester United's IPO prospects in the United States given volatile markets.

"It is a brave move for Man U to try to list in the U.S. Good luck to them," said an investment banker in Asia.

One of the sources said Manchester United had always planned to position itself as a global media business rather than a sports franchise, suggesting that a U.S. listing would make more sense. U.S. investors are also familiar with the dual-class share structure that was under discussion for Manchester United's Singapore listing, having seen it used by household names such as Google and Facebook.

The Glazers are understood to have wanted to sell Class B shares with limited or no voting rights to maintain a level of control of 95-100 percent. (C ) Reuters

Who in their right mind would buy Class B shares that give you no voting rights ?
Mind you there's plenty of stupid people with lots of money.


Nice that we've also lost god knows how much that went into the preparation of floating in Singapore. More money gone.

http://action.joinmust.org/index.ph...pulled-out-of-mufc-ipo-due-to-glazers-greedy/

Just got that email off MUST!

That's interesting indeed maco, cheers for posting it.
Haven't checked my emails today but no doubt I'll have that as well.

Oh dear, if you think


on second thoughts forget it.

@mikekeeganmen: Via @RobHarris: BREAKING: Manchester United files with US government to list shares on the New York Stock Exchange #mufc

Rumors that they are trying to get to of £100 million. AND the money will be used to clear debts.

I'll believe the last part when I actually see that happen in the accounts.


(Reuters) - Manchester United Ltd, the world's best-supported football club, filed with U.S. regulators on Tuesday to raise up to $100 million (63.7 million pounds) in an initial public offering of its Class A common stock.

The company told the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in a preliminary prospectus that Jefferies, Credit Suisse, J.P. Morgan, BofA Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank Securities are underwriting the IPO.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/07/03/uk-manchester-united-ipo-idUKBRE86219620120703

the full documen, if anybody would like to read it all.
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1549107/000104746912007026/a2210109zf-1.htm

One part that really stood out to me

"Our indebtedness increases the risk that we may be unable to generate cash sufficient to pay amounts due in respect of our indebtedness. It could also have effects on our business. For example, it could:

• affect our ability to compete for players and coaching staff;"