By David Gold
August 22 – Billionaire George Soros has invested in Manchester United, purchasing 3.1 million of the club’s shares.
The shares, bought by Soros’ investment fund, carry one vote each at the Premier League giants, compared to the 10 of each Class B share possessed by the club’s owners, the Glazer family.
It means Soros (pictured top), who famously made a fortune by betting against the pound just before Britain left the European Exchange Rate Mechanism in 1992, owns just under two per cent of the Premier League side.
Soros has previously considered a takeover for Serie A side Roma.
United (pictured below) floated on the New York Stock Exchange earlier this month, with shares made for sale at $14 (£9/€11), $2 (£1.30/€1.60) lower than was originally planned.
The club’s owners will be disappointed after the first week of trading with shares trading at less than $13 (£8/€10) at one point on Monday, and closing at just over $13 (£8/€10).
The valuation of the club under the floatation is $2.3 billion (£1.46 billion/€1.8 billion), but the performance of shares to date will have reduced that figure.
If that continues, it will be a blow to the Glazers, as were they to sell the club they would likely have to reduce their asking price.
The Glazers bought United in 2005, and are hoping to raise $233 million (£150 million/€190 million) from the float, half of which will go to paying down debts acquired from their leveraged takeover.
The remainder would go directly to the Glazer family, something which has angered fans who were already opposed to the involvement of the Americans in the club.
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