United to float in New York

Manchester United have filed with the US government to list shares on the New York stock exchange.

Old Trafford club hoping to raise $100m from shares to pay off debt

Manchester United have filed with the US government to list shares on the New York stock exchange. In documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, United said listing in New York would raise up to $100m (£64m) which would be used to repay some of the club's debt. The club had earlier been considering floating on the Singapore exchange but the idea was abandoned because of volatility in the markets. Under the proposed reorganisation, the team would become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Manchester United Ltd, a newly-formed holding company based in the Cayman Islands. The American Glazer family, which bought the club in 2005, would retain control over the club through Class B shares, which would have 10 times the voting power of the shares that would be sold to the public. The club was listed on the London Stock Exchange from 1991 until June 2005, when Glazer completed a leveraged buy-out valued at $1.47b. United has been looking to raise funds to help reduce debts from the 2005 takeover that were £423m as of March 31. The club was valued at $2.24b by Forbes magazine in April, ranking it as football's most valuable club for the eighth year in a row. United will become the first sports club to list shares in New York since the Cleveland Indians baseball team in 1998.