US tycoon Malcolm Glazer plans to delist Manchester United as early as June 22nd as part of his £790 million (€1.15 billion) takeover of the British soccer giant, his bankers said yesterday.
In a statement, investment bank Rothschild said that Mr Glazer planned to apply to UK authorities to cancel Manchester United plc's listing from the London Stock Exchange on June 22nd "or as soon thereafter as is practicable".
The move brings to an end Mr Glazer's two-year battle to acquire the 15-times English soccer champions and return the 127-year-old club into private hands after 14 years on the stock exchange.
The news came as Mr Glazer posted official details of his 300p-a-share offer to Manchester United's shareholders, kicking off a timetable for the US financier to close his acquisition of the club.
But the widely anticipated offer document contained no details of Mr Glazer's business plans for the club. Fans had hoped for more information on player investment or plans to increase profits by capitalising on Manchester United's brand, both domestically and abroad.
"It was deliberately technical," said one source close to the deal. "They thought about using it as a PR [ public relations] document but decided against it.
"They just wanted the offer process to be finished first," the source added.
Mr Glazer seized control of Manchester United earlier this month by buying a 28.7 per cent stake from the club's biggest shareholder, Cubic Expression, an investment vehicle for John Magnier and JP McManus. He now owns 76.2 per cent.
In his offer document, Mr Glazer admitted for the first time that his bid will be financed in part by three large US hedge funds - Citadel Horizon, Perry Capital and Och Ziff - which between them have lent Mr Glazer £275 million of debt in return for preferred securities in the football club.
He did not disclose the amount of interest payable on the debt which is in the form of so-called pay-in-kind (PIK) notes.
Investors in PIK notes get paid higher yields than other types of debt.
In addition, the club has put in place a revolving credit facility of £50 million for working capital and a capital expenditure line of £40 million, the document said.
Shareholders will be able to sell shares to Mr Glazer until 2pm on June 13th. - (Reuters)
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