Manchester United has finally become the most valuable sports club globally as it makes its debut on the New York Stock Exchange today with 16.7 million shares. And you can be the proud owner of 10 percent of the organization as shares are up for grabs. The shares were priced at £8.95 ($14) yesterday, making the club worth around £1.49 billion ($2.32billion), which makes them dearer than Spanish giants Real Madrid, the New York Yankees, and the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys.
The sale is expected to raise £150 million ($2.3 million), half of which will be used to set off a part of their £437 million ($683 million) debt, apart from taking care of their everyday work. The balance will go to the new American owner’s Glazers. The debt-free team has been struggling with finances since the new owners picked up a bank loan worth £525 million secured against the club’s assets during its 2005 takeover. This move comes after the company failed to impress previous IPO attempts amounting to $1 billion in Hong Kong and Singapore.
[Menmedia]
