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The U.S.-listed shares of Manchester United PLC suffered a record beating Tuesday, after a report that the iconic English football club was set to be taken off the market.
Manchester United
MANU,
UK:MNL
fell 18.2% on the day to log its biggest one-day selloff since the company went public in August 2012. The previous record drop was 13.8% on March 12, 2020, at the outset of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Florida-based Glazer family, which took control of Manchester United in 2005, had said in November 2022 that a sale of the club was being explored. But over the Labor Day weekend, the Mail Online reported that the Glazers were set to take the club off the market.
The report is likely to infuriate fans of the club, who have long chafed at the Glazers’ ownership. The iconic club has won just one major trophy over the past six seasons.
It had been believed that a sale of the club was close, as MarketWatch learned in early June that Qatar’s Sheikh Jassim had submitted a fifth and final bid to buy 100% of the club, with reports indicating the bid was no more than $7.5 billion.
Also read: Manchester United shares jump on report Qatar’s Sheikh Jassim to be named preferred bidder.
Offers for the club have not reached levels that the Glazers were looking for, so they have decided to take the club off the market, in the expectation that market conditions will improve down the road, the Mail Online report said, citing a source described as having close ties to the family.
The Glazers are holding out for £10 billion, or some $12.6 billion, the Mail Online report said.
Manchester United’s stock has gained 7.2% over the past three months but remains down 17.1% in 2023. In comparison, the S&P 500 index
SPX
has tacked on 5.2% in the past three months and has run up 17.1% this year.
