United flotation under the microscope

Manchester United fans should be angered after the club floated on the New York Stock Exchange, according to a leading financial analyst.

United became the first English football club to list on an American exchange in early August.

The shares are being sold by the team’s owners, the Glazer family, who will take half the money raised despite United having significant debts.

Morningstar financial analyst James Krapfel said United supporters have a right to be frustrated.

“The fans of the team were quite disappointed with the offering,” he said.

“They had hoped that the offering would lead to a greater debt reduction for the team but half the proceeds have gone towards the Glazer family.

“The company still has a lot of debt and the fans are concerned that the debt has prevented the company from being able to acquire the players needed to make the team more competitive.

“Shares of Manchester United have been priced at 14 dollars, below the 16-20 dollars offered by the club.

“They have traded near 14 dollars in subsequent trade since the first day. The stock is up a bit today, by about two percent.

“An individual investor would have very little say in terms of operations of Manchester United, given that they are issuing class A shares while retaining class B shares which have twice the voting power.

“The Glazers will still own 97 percent of the company so investors will have no say on dividends and little say on the company’s forward outlook.”