Manchester United eyes over $300 million in Wall Street IPO

NEW YORK - Agence France-Presse

REUTERS photo

Popular British football (soccer) team Manchester United announced Monday that it hopes to earn over $300 million in its proposed IPO on Wall Street.

The team will put 16.7 million shares on market, half in public shares and half belonging to the club owner, American businessman Malcolm Glazer. The shares will be sold at $16 and $20, raising a target amount of around $300.6 million.
 
Taking into account the 2.5 million additional shares that may be offered through overallotment options and the maximum price per share, the team could stand to raise up to $383 million. The opening date for the public offering, initially announced in July, has not yet been set. The club had renounced its previous initial public offering, slated for the Singapore market, in a region where there is an abundance of liquidity and a strong fan base. Among the most popular teams in the world, Manchester United posted a profit of $19.7 million in 2011, with total revenues at $518.5 million.
 
The team hopes to use its IPO revenues to reduce its debt, which stood at $664 million at the end of the first quarter this year. Manchester United was listed in the London Stock Exchange for 11 years, before the team was purchased by Glazer in 2005, in a move that greatly increased the team's debt. The Glazer family will keep their Class B shares with voting rights that are 10 times those of the Class A shares which will be put on the market.