Man Utd plan IPO launch within days: sources

New York: British soccer club Manchester United is planning to launch the marketing road show for its proposed $300 million US initial public offering within days, after a delay earlier this week, sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

The club, which is controlled by the Glazer family, may start the road show as soon as Friday or early next week, according to the sources. But they warned that market conditions could lead to further delays. The S&P 500 fell for the fourth day on Wednesday amid worries about the European debt crisis and earnings.

Sources familiar with the situation said on Tuesday that the club was planning a launch earlier this week but delayed it because of market conditions and was going to reevaluate conditions.

The club, which is controlled by the Glazer family, may start the road show as soon as Friday or early next week.

If the launch happens as planned now, the club could price the offering in the week of August 13, the sources said. Manchester United could not be reached for comment.

The offering, which is expected to value the team at roughly $3 billion, is slated to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker "MANU." The team scrapped plans to list in Hong Kong and Singapore after demand came in weaker than expected. It had originally looked to raise as much as $1 billion in Singapore.

Jefferies is the lead left book runner in the syndicate that also includes Credit Suisse, JP Morgan, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank.

The banks plan to benchmark Manchester United against both traditional media companies as well as consumer goods companies. There have historically been few publicly traded sports teams in the US, with the exception of the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Indians which are both now privately held.

The Glazer family, who are well-known in the US as owners of American football team the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, made their fortune owning and leasing shopping centers. The family will remain in control of the team after the offering through the use of a dual class structure in which the Glazers' shares will have 10 times the voting power of average investors' shares.

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