Man Utd prepares $1bn Singapore float

Manchester United is planning to raise up to $1bn through a partial flotation in Singapore that would go a long way towards establishing a true valuation for the Premier League football champions.

The club has appointed Credit Suisse to prepare for the float which will aim to tap into the club's strong fanbase in Asia, according to people familiar with the matter. One person said the plan was for 25-30 per cent of the club to be made available.

The Glazer family, the US-based owners of United, have long believed that the football club was worth more than £2bn ($3.3bn). However, one person with knowledge of the flotation plan said the Glazers had been advised that a partial flotation could establish a value of £1.7bn.

A group of wealthy United supporters, who were last year rebuffed in their attempts to buy the club from the Glazers, have maintained the club is worth not much more than £1bn.

The Glazers, owners of the National Football League's Tampa Bay Buccaneers and a string of US shopping malls, bought the UK club in 2005 in a £790m leveraged buy-out. Last year, the family tapped investors for a £500m bond to refinance the club's bank loans. United's gross debts stand at more than £500m.

The Glazers said last November that £249m of high interest payment-in-kind notes were paid down, although they did not reveal how and by whom.

Red Football Joint Venture, the club's parent company, announced in March a pre-tax loss of £109m for the year ending June 2010. Revenues grew more than 8 per cent to £156.5m.

The club, which has a cash position of about £150m, has negotiated a series of commercial deals, and claims to be lining up further details to exploit United's global brand.

Some observers expressed surprise the club had chosen Singapore as a listing venue rather than Hong Kong, where there is likely to have been strong retail investor demand.

However, the club's advisers are understood to have thought Hong Kong's investor base was too narrow, and were keen to show that United was not just a China-focused franchise.

Winning the United IPO will be regarded as a major coup by the Singapore Exchange, which has invested significant effort in seeking to attract substantial listings from overseas as part of its "Asian Gateway" strategy.

Credit Suisse, which will act as sole global co-ordinator and bookrunner, declined to comment. The club said it did not comment on "market speculation"
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