Manchester United’s New York Stock Exchange valuation fell by more than $700 million Tuesday following a British media report that the club’s owners had abandoned preparations to sell the club.
According to the Daily Mail, United’s owners, the Glazer family, have removed the club off the sale after failing to attract an offer that satisfies their asking price.
The group’s market value fell by 18.22 percent in one day on Tuesday, the largest single-session decrease since its IPO in 2012.
According to the British press, the club’s two main suitors — British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, founder of chemicals company INEOS, and Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani — both filed bids for roughly five billion pounds ($6.3 billion).
The Glazers own almost two-thirds of the club’s capital but nearly all of the voting rights.
Manchester United’s market valuation is presently $3.15 billion, which is less than half of the $7.5 billion asking price set by the Glazers.
According to football website 90min, conversations about selling the club are still ongoing, citing unidentified sources close to the Glazers and potential purchasers.
The club was progressively purchased between 2003 and 2005 by US entrepreneur Malcolm Glazer, who died in 2014 and left his interests to his six children.
They declared their intention to sell the three-time Champions League champion in November 2022.
The Glazers are immensely disliked among United supporters, who accuse the family of saddling the team with debt and failing to invest enough to keep the club competitive.
