Thursday, 18 August 2011

UNITED 'TO SELL STAKE IN SINGAPORE'


19th August 2011

By Jeremy Cross





Manchester United are to sell off a stake in the club in Singapore in order to pay off a portion of their debts and further develop their business in Asia, Press Association Sport understands.

The Barclays Premier League champions currently have debts of more than £500million but they could hope to clear a large proportion of that by floating on the Singapore Stock Exchange.

The club has lodged a submission to launch an Initial Public Offering (IPO) - a flotation - with the intention of being listed on the stock exchange by the end of 2011.

The submission process will take between four and 12 weeks, followed by a further fortnight of administrative proceedings which will see United floating in the fourth quarter of the year.

The north-west club already have 192 million supporters in Asia, out of a worldwide total of 333 million, and the flotation means they can develop commercial links and increase their fanbase.

In contrast to much of the western world which is in a deep recession, Asia's economy is continuing to grow, rebounding quickly after a short slump.

It is not yet certain what proportion will be floated or how much the Glazer family, United's owners, are hoping to raise although some reports are estimating between £400m and £600m.

Manchester United were not commenting.

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