Manchester United have lodged a listing application with the Singapore Exchange as the British football club looks to pay down its debt pile, according to media reports today.
The club, which has debts of £515 mn ($850 mn), will seek to raise between £400 mn-£600 mn in a floatation by the end of the year, reports the BBC.
The Glazer family, who took Manchester United private in 2005, is expected to offer 25 percent-30 percent of the club during the sale, adds the news organization.
Manchester United took on a heavy debt burden when the Glazers completed a leveraged buyout of the club six years ago. A partial sale will help ease team’s financial situation, potentially freeing up more money to be spent in the transfer window.
Despite being crowned English champions in May, Manchester United have struggled to compete with their richer rivals in the transfer market, such as Manchester City and Chelsea.
The listing will also further establish the football club’s brand in Asia, where around two-thirds of its fans are located.
When reports of the listing began to emerge yesterday, many market participants expressed surprise that Manchester United had opted to float in Singapore, rather than the larger market in Hong Kong.
Various reasons have been offered up as to why the club picked Singapore over Hong Kong, such as the the higher liquidity, lower regulatory burden, potentially higher valuation and more diverse shareholder base available in Singapore, as wells the desire to show Manchester United is not overly focused on just the Chinese market.
