Manchester United shareholders approached for sale; some Glazer family members could sell down stakes - report
06 AUG 2017
Some of Manchester United’s [NYSE:MANU] leading independent shareholders have been approached by an unidentified party from China about selling a stake in the UK Premier League football club, The Sunday Timesreported. The newspaper cited unspecified sources who said the discussions have not yet led to any formal talks but added that a large stake is sure to be sold at some point.
Intermediaries who claim to be acting for unidentified Chinese billionaires have sounded out United shareholders, according to the report.
The Glazer family holds an economic interest in about 80% of Manchester United, the article said, listing United’s Co-Chairmen Joel and Avram Glazer, their brother Bryan and Darcie, Edward and Kevin Glazer as the Glazer shareholders.
Of the Glazer family, Avram, Joel and Bryan want to retain their stakes in the club, while Darcie, Edward and Kevin are said to be looking to sell down their stakes, according to the report.
The item went on to cite one City source who said a US-based broker was trying to find a buyer for a stake of about 8% in Manchester United last week. The identity of the stake’s underlying owner was not clear, the report added.
Manchester United reported an operating profit of GBP 68.9m (USD 89.8m) on revenues of GBP 513.6m last year, the item noted.
A separate report in The Sunday Times on 6 August noted that Manchester United’s public investors include the investment management firms Baron, Fidelity and Jupiter as well as Lansdowne, a hedge fund.
The public shareholders own “class A” shares, the item continued, The Class A shares carry only 10% of the voting rights attached to the “class B” shares held by the Glazer family members, the report continued, adding that the ownership structure has prompted complaints from some investors who consider it to be heavily weighted in the Glazers’ favour.
Manchester United’s market capitalisation stood at USD 2.80bn (GBP 2.14bn) at the close of trading in New York on Friday, 4 August.
Background:
The Chinese-language website Titan Sports reported on 30 October 2015 that a consortium led by the Chinese investment firm planned to acquire a stake in Manchester United and that it had approached the club with a preliminary offer for an undisclosed stake.
CITIC categorically denied the speculation that it had offered to buy a stake in Manchester United, according to an unidentified source at CITIC cited by the Chinese-language news website Caijing.com on 31 October 2015.