Manchester United has dropped its plan to float a significant stake in the club on the Singapore Stock Exchange in favour of exploring a listing in the United States, Reuters is reporting, claims SportBusiness. Reuters stated that United had always planned to position itself as a global media business rather than a sports franchise, meaning that a US listing would make more sense.
United's owners, the Glazer family, are also well known in the US as the owners of National Football League (NFL) franchise the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, along with their interest in shopping centre developer First Allied Corp.
Reuters adds that a US listing would also tally with United's proposed dual-class share structure for Singapore, owing to American investors' familiarity with the concept.
The Glazers reportedly wanted to sell Class B shares with limited or no voting rights to maintain a level of control of 95-100%.
However, the long delays in approval from the Singapore Exchange are understood to be one of the main reasons behind a change in strategy. The Glazers were reportedly seeking to generate up to £600 million by selling 25 to 30% of the club via an initial public offering (IPO) that would value it at up to £2 billion.
