Glazers' Disgraceful IPO U-Turn

The Glazers have revealed a massive u-turn in their IPO proposals in a revised filing of the IPO last night. In the original filing it was made absolutely clear that ALL of the proceeds of the IPO would go to paying down debt the Glazers have loaded onto Manchester United. The revised filing reveals they now plan to take half the IPO proceeds for themselves! This can be seen in the red section in white text. The Glazers are selling the same number of shares as MU Ltd but costs are being loaded onto MU Ltd so Glazers will take more then 50% of net proceeds for themselves.

Furthermore the amount raised to pay down debt will be relatively insignificant (£75m) leaving £350m of their debt still on our club.

Duncan Drasdo, chief executive of the Manchester United Supporters Trust said: “The Glazers have already cost United more than £550m in debt related fees and now another slap in the face as they help themselves to half of the proposed IPO proceeds. Each of the 6 lineal descendants of Malcolm Glazer will claw out $25 million for themselves. Clearly this has nothing to do with benefits for Manchester United and is all about giving the Glazers quick access to desperately needed cash at the expense of our football club. What is the sudden reason for this desperation for cash now? There is now no doubt that this IPO is bad for Manchester United supporters, Manchester United Football Club and any investors gullible enough to pay the inflated price they’ve attached to inferior shares which have just 1/10 of the voting rights of the Glazers shares and no dividends. Their bare faced cheek is almost unbelievable.”

The Guardian report
The Independent report
The Telegraph report
Sky report