Forbes: Glazers Get Richer off Updated ManU IPO

Just posted from Forbes:

The amended filing for Manchester United’s public offering is going to give more of the IPO’s proceeds to the Glazer Family and less to the English soccer club than the original offering.

This change has infuriated MUST (Manchester United Supporters Trust), a large group of the club’s supporters who have been critical of the way Malcolm Glazer has run the Red Devils since gaining control in 2005 for $1.47 billion.

In an email to Forbes, Duncan Drasdo, the chief executive of Manchester United Supporters Trust wrote: “In the original filing it was made absolutely clear that ALL of the proceeds of the IPO would go to paying down debt the Glazers have loaded onto Manchester United. The revised filing reveals they now plan to take HALF OF THE IPO PROCEEDS FOR THEMSELVES. Furthermore the amount raised to pay down debt will be relatively insignificant (£75m) leaving £350m of their debt still on our club. There is now no doubt that this IPO is bad for Manchester United supporters, Manchester United Football Club and any investors gullible enough to pay the inflated price they’ve attached to inferior shares which have just 1/10 of the voting rights of the Glazers shares and no dividends. Their bare faced cheek is almost unbelievable.”

Manchester United commenced its IPO yesterday, offering of 16,666,667 Class A Ordinary Shares. Those shares consist of the club offering 8,333,334 Class A Ordinary Shares and the Glazer family offering 8,333,333 Class A Ordinary Shares. The underwriters (Jeffries Co., Credit Suisse Securities, J.P. Morgan, BofA Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank Securities) have an option to purchase up to an additional 2,500,000 Class A Ordinary Shares from the selling shareholder. The Class A Ordinary Shares will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange and will trade under the symbol “MANU.”

You can read the amended filing at the bottom of the page here.