ManU

Manchester United Again Puts Plan To Launch IPO In The U.S. On Hold

Published July 26, 2012

EPL club Manchester United has "temporarily paused plans to launch" its $300M IPO in the U.S., "where market volatility has soared in recent days as macroeconomic fears hit share prices," according to Massoudi, Blitz & Sakoui of the FINANCIAL TIMES. The pause comes as U.S. markets "have been unsettled by further concerns over debt and economic growth in the eurozone, with the S&P 500 index falling 2 per cent since the start of the week." Sources said that the current delay "had to do with market conditions." It was "not immediately clear if United would still attempt to list its shares before the current IPO window closes in mid-August, ahead of the traditional market lull that runs through to the US public holidays in early September" (FINANCIAL TIMES, 7/26). The GUARDIAN's Goodley & Milmo note the move is "the latest setback in a long-running attempt to list the company's shares, a move that had previously been earmarked for the exchanges in Hong Kong and Singapore, and comes as the club had been looking to kick off their roadshow presentations to potential share buyers this week" (GUARDIAN, 7/26). Sources said that ManU “may start the road show as soon as Friday or early next week.” The offering is “expected to value the team at roughly $3 billion” (REUTERS, 7/25).