Man Utd shares make Wall Street debut
MANCHESTER United shares have begun trading at $14 per share on the New York Stock Exchange.
The price was stable around the $14 mark in early trade on Wall Street, rising four cents to $14.04 with more than 13.5 million trades.
Executives including CEO David Gill and members of the Glazer family – the owners of the club – had earlier rung the NYSE bell to begin trading the shares. The stock is listed on the New York exchange under the symbol MANU.
Mr Gill told Sky News that investors were buying part of a “great club in a great sport.”
The IPO will raise around $233m (£150m) – 50% of which will be used to pay off debt – the remainder will go to the Glazer family.
Mr Gill said of this: “They own the club and they are entitled to do this.” He reiterated that he is comfortable with the level of debt that the club has, and stressed it had not impacted on either the club’s on-field performance or its transfer policy.
The opening price of $14 was significantly less than the Glazers had hoped for. The Florida-based family, which has owned the club since 2005, had wanted the shares to be priced between $16-$20 – but concerns from investors over voting rights and no dividends – and the disappointing recent IPO of Facebook – subdued demand, experts said.
The business will still be valued at $2.3bn – (£1.5bn) – making it the most valuable club in the world, ahead of Spanish giants Real Madrid which is valued at $1.88bn by Forbes.
Roy Kaitcer, a director at stockbroker Brewin Dolphin said: “There has been a lot of negativity around the IPO and there are concerns because the prospectus made it clear there would be no dividends paid and there will be no voting rights for the shares.
“The hype over Facebook and the ensuing fall in the price shortly after trading began may be another factor. Having said that, the price that has been achieved still makes United the most valuable football club in the world.”
The IPO is offering around 10% of the club – 16.7 million shares – to investors. The proceeds will be split by the Glazer family and the club – which will use its share to pay off some of the £423m of debt it still carries – a legacy of the Glazers’ unpopular £800m leveraged buyout.
The Manchester United Shareholders Trust (MUST) which has led a high profile camapign against the Glazers and their ownership model, called the cut-price IPO a “massive humiliating blow” for the family.
The club recently announced a record short sponsorship deal with US car brand Chevrolet worth nearly £360m over the next seven years – underlining the club’s unrivalled ability to generate commercial incomes.
