Here Is Your Chance To Own Manchester United Stocks

Manchester United has picked the New York Stock Exchange to make its stock market debut, ending months of speculation over where the football club would list.  The legendary English soccer club, filed plans to raise $100 million in an initial public offering in the U.S. The move by the team's owners, the Glazer family, which also owns the National Football League's Tampa Bay Buccaneers, wasn't unexpected, but the filing provided a window into the finances of one of the most popular sports brands in the world.

According to the filing, United had $520 million in revenue last year. However, the team is also carrying some $664 million in debt, a sum that critics have said is preventing Manchester United from acquiring the top players in the world.

The plan comes after a disappointing season for United, which has won 60 trophies during its 134-year history. The team was beaten out for the English Premier League title by crosstown rival Manchester City and was eliminated from the European club championship before the final knockout rounds of the tournament.

"The interests of our principal shareholder might not coincide with the interests of the other holders of our capital stock," the filing warned.While the team is going through with the public offering, the Glazers intend to remain in full control. The team didn't set a launch date, stock symbol, price range or offering size, specifying only that there will be two share classes, Class A and Class B, with Class B controlling most of the voting rights. The team plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange.

United included some other warnings for potential shareholders, indicating that much of its revenue is dependent on team performance. Failure to finish in the top four of the EPL would mean that United can't compete for the European club championship and get its share of media revenues for that tournament, which accounted for nearly 40% of its $115 million in broadcasting revenue in 2011. Game-day revenue dropped to $173.8 million in 2011 from $179.5 in 2009.

Still, United remains a cash cow in international soccer. Insurance company Aon PLC pays the team $31.4 million to put its name on United's uniforms. A deal with sports-apparel maker Nike Inc. garnered the $40 million in 2011.

United, one of the most successful teams in professional soccer, would be one of the first sports teams to go public in the U.S. in more than a decade. The last team to do so was the Cleveland Indians Baseball Co., which launched in 1998, according to data tracker Dealogic, and was later taken private.The company called off plans last year for a $1 billion IPO in Singapore last year amid volatile markets. It picked Jefferies Group Inc., Credit Suisse Group, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank AG as its underwriters. Morgan Stanley, which was originally on the team to bring the deal in Singapore, isn't participating in the U.S. offering.

The company generates revenue from three sources: commercial fees from sponsorships and brand marketing and licensing, broadcasting rights, and ticket sales to its live games.

Manchester United says its key competitive strengths are its globally recognized name and its ability to monetize that as a brand. It plans to expand its portfolio of global and regional sponsors, and to expand its global broadcasting platform, MUTV.

Although the team is currently profitable, it realized a loss from continuing operations in two of the past three fiscal years. Those losses were primarily the result of financing costs, which were reduced during a deleveraging in 2010.

The company also warns that there are risks unique to its industry, including competition for key players, as well as increases in operating costs, such as player salaries and transfer costs.

Manchester United traces its origins to 1878, when its predecessor Newton Heath LYR was formed by railyard workers. it changed its name in 1902 when a brewery owner invested in the team.

After first eyeing a Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO), the English Premier League giants had planned a US$1-billion (S$1.26-billion) listing in Singapore in the second half of last year before putting plans on hold because of market turmoil.

The US-owned club filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday to raise up to US$100 million in an IPO of its Class A ordinary shares in New York.


The figure in the initial paperwork is typically a placeholder and there is speculation that the club will be seeking to raise up to US$1 billion. 


Manchester United had previously traded on the London Stock Exchange before Malcolm Glazer, the owner of the NFL franchise Tampa Bay Buccaneers, acquired the company in 2005.


The club's debt as of March 31 was £423.3 million (S$837 million), according to the filing, which it intends to repay using the net proceeds from this offering. Manchester United plans to sell an undisclosed number of Class A shares, which have one vote each. The Glazer family will hold Class B shares, which will have 10 votes apiece, effectively keeping the club's management within its control.


Jefferies, Credit Suisse, JPMorgan , Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank Securities are underwriting the IPO, Manchester United said in a preliminary prospectus.