Man United Stock Soars on Unconfirmed Report of Qatari Winning Bid
Manchester United shares jumped more than 20% in pre-market trading on Tuesday after a report by Qatar’s Al-Watan newspaper that Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani had emerged as the winning bidder for the 20-time English league champions. Shares were 14% higher at the market open.
Man United declined to comment, and Raine Group, which is leading the sale process, did not respond to a request to comment.
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United shares have been on a rollercoaster ride since the Glazer family hired Raine in November to “consider all strategic alternatives” for the team. They more than doubled initially, but last week traded as much as 37% below the intraday high of $27.34 in February. They have since rallied 30% since last week’s low to $23.
The ups and downs of the stock price have been fueled by the two competing bids for the team with Al Thani and INEOS founder Jim Ratcliffe, who is the U.K.’s richest person worth $16 billion, per Bloomberg. Both bids are worth at least $6 billion, but they treat public shareholders differently.
Al Thani, who is the son of a former Qatar prime minister, proposed buying 100% of the team in a debt-free transaction. Ratcliffe’s bid is for roughly half the club and includes control of the team, but it would not initially buy out the public shareholders.
With the pre-market move, Man United’s enterprise value—its equity, plus net debt—is $4.65 billion, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. Last month, Sportico valued the team at $5.95 billion, tops among the world’s most valuation soccer teams.
In the fourth quarter, Ariel Investments sold nearly 3 million shares, or 26% of its stake, in Man United after the stock run-up. Ariel had been United’s largest institutional holder at the end of September, with 21% of the common shares outstanding. It paid between $12 and $14 for most of its stake. Lindsell Train is currently the largest institutional shareholder. The Glazers have a voting share of 67% thanks to their class B shares.
United finished third in this season’s Premier League standings, and the next owner will get a boost with the Red Devils’ return to Champions League. Man United participated in 18 straight tournaments through 2013-14 but failed to qualify in four of the nine years since then, including the 2022-23 competition.
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