Manchester United share price tumbles with club sale in question

NEW YORK: Manchester United's valuation on the New York Stock Exchange plummeted by more than US$700 million on Tuesday (Sep 5) after a British media report that the team's owners had halted plans to sell the club.

United's owners, the Glazer family, have reportedly taken the club off the market after failing to attract an offer that meets their asking price, the Daily Mail reported Sunday.

On Tuesday, the group's market capitalisation fell by 18.22 per cent in one day - the listing's biggest single-session drop since its 2012 IPO.

According to the British press, the club's two leading suitors - British billqataionaire Jim Ratcliffe who founded chemicals giant INEOS and Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani - both submitted deals that value United at approximately £5 billion, or around US$6.3 billion.

The Glazers hold about two-thirds of the club's capital but almost all voting rights.

Manchester United's market capitalisation is now at US$3.15 billion, less than half the US$7.5 billion asking price the Glazers put on the club.

Football website 90min indicated that discussions are still continuing with the aim of selling the club, citing anonymous sources close to the Glazers and potential buyers.

The club was gradually bought between 2003 and 2005 by US entrepreneur Malcolm Glazer, who passed his shares to his six children upon his death in 2014.

They announced in November 2022 that they were considering selling the three-time Champions League winner.

The Glazers are deeply unpopular with United's supporters, who accuse the family of having saddled the club with debt in their takeover and of having not invested enough to allow the club to remain competitive.