Man Utd

[jamb0_1874]

Manchester United is planning to raise around $1bn from a Singapore initial public offering in the fourth quarter, people familiar with the situation said on Tuesday.

 

They said Credit Suisse has been mandated by the UK club as sole global coordinator and bookrunner on the deal. One person said that other banks will be added as bookrunners on the IPO later on.

 

The club, which was once listed on the London Stock Exchange as Manchester United PLC, had initial planned to list in Hong Kong, but changed its mind and has now picked Singapore as a listing venue, the people said.

 

Singapore has been pushing to position itself as one of the preferred destinations for foreign listings in a bid to compete with Hong Kong, which this year has seen companies such as commodities giant Glencore raise $10bn ahead of London and Hong Kong listings in May, and Prada, which raised $2.15bn in June.

 

Apart from Manchester United, people familiar with the situation have said earlier that UK's Fitness First is also looking for a Singapore IPO, which will raise between 600m and 700m Singapore dollars (about $500m to $583m) in the fourth quarter.

 

 

Manchester United was delisted in 2005 after US investor Malcolm Glazer bought the club.

 

Forbes this year ranked Manchester United as the world's most valuable football team in 2011, valuing the club at $1.86bn. The club is one of UK's most successful, having been crowned English league champions 19 times and European champions three times in its 133-year history.

 

Manchester United wasn't immediately available for comment.

 

 

 

 

If that works for them, it would certainly sort out their debt problems.