Investors recognising clubs' value ahead of Man Utd bids, says finance expert

(Recasts headline)

By Sophie Penney

LONDON :Recent investment in soccer has set the bar for the value of elite clubs and led to the sport becoming "big, big business", finance expert Neil Joyce told Reuters on Friday, ahead of the expiration of a deadline for bids to buy into Manchester United.

United's owners, the American Glazer family, began looking at new investment or a potential sale last year, with British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe's company INEOS entering the bidding process, while investors from Qatar and Saudi Arabia have also been linked with a takeover.

United are set to receive multiple offers ahead of the initial deadline for bids expiring later on Friday, kicking off potentially the largest sports deal ever.

U.S.-listed shares of United rose nearly 5 per cent premarket to $28.10 on Friday, a day after closing at a record high.

"Football is big, big business from an investment standpoint," said Joyce, CEO & co-founder of CLV Group.

"With all the investment that's come into the Premier League ... the likes of (Saudi Arabia's) PIF (Public Investment Fund) acquiring Newcastle United, Todd Boehly and his consortium buying Chelsea, they kind of set the threshold of what football clubs are worth.

"The bar's been set in terms of the value of sports teams and football teams in particular as brands."

FINANCIAL INCENTIVE

The Glazers bought United for 790 million pounds ($947 million) in 2005, and Joyce said there was plenty of financial incentive for them to sell the club.

"If you look at it from an investment perspective, purely on this side of things, traditionally, private equity companies invest into businesses with the belief that they can generate anywhere between two to four times return on capital," Joyce said.

"If you