Manchester United, the English soccer team with a record 19 national championships, plans to raise as much as $333 million in a U.S. initial public offering.
The company and its selling shareholder, the Glazer family, are offering 16.7 million shares at $16 to $20 each, according to a regulatory filing Monday. United filed for the U.S. IPO July 3.
Manchester United chose a U.S. sale after scrapping plans for an offering worth as much as $1 billion in Singapore. Long-term debt at the club totaled £417 million ($665 million) as of March, according to the filings. The club is controlled by the Glazer family of the U.S., which acquired United for £790 million in 2005. The Glazers also own the National Football League’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Glazers, who have full ownership of United, hold Class B shares, which are entitled to 10 votes apiece. The Class A shares being sold in the IPO get one vote each, according to filings.
Jefferies Group, Credit Suisse Group and J.P. Morgan Chase are leading the U.S. offering for the soccer club. Morgan Stanley, which had been hired to lead the sale in Singapore, is no longer working on the sale. The club plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol MANU.
United’s sponsorships and product licensing helped generate £89.5 million of revenue in the nine months through March 31, more than one-third of total revenue, filings show. That’s 17% more than the year-earlier period.
General Motors Co. on Monday announced it signed a seven-year deal to have its Chevrolet brand on United’s jerseys. The contract begins in 2014, according to a news release. Insurance company Aon Corp. pays about £20 million a year for its logo to appear on the team’s red shirt under its current accord.
