Manchester United share price plummets as club announces player spending in “near term”

Manchester United’s share price plummeted by over nine per cent on the US stock exchange this morning, after Edward Glazer put 3m of his shares up for sale and the club confirmed further spending on players in the “near term”. 

 

After markets in the US closed yesterday Edward Glazer, one of Malcolm Glazer’s six children who inherited a split of the former owner’s shares when following his death in May, announced he was looking to cash in by selling the two per cent stake in the club.

 

United’s share price stood at $16.43 per share last night, but opened at a price of $14.87 per share on the New York Stock Exchange this morning.

 

Edward Glazer stands to make around $45m from the share issue, which is the Glazers’ second mass-sale of shares this year, after 8m shares were sold in August.

 

In total, the Glazers have sold around 17 per cent of Manchester United since the Premier League giants became a publicly listed company.

 

However, while United’s controversial owners now have less than 85 per cent of the total shares, they own 95 per cent of Class B shares which contain voting rights.

 

In contrast to today’s tanking, the club’s share price has remained relatively stable following previous share issues.

 

In a share prospectus for the latest sale, United said they expect to see further spending on players in the January transfer window.

 

The club state:

 

United have already spent lavishly in the transfer market this season, forking out £169m on new players in the summer – more than any other Premier League club and 19 per cent of the league’s total.

 

In the week following the close of the summer transfer window, investors seemed to slightly lose confidence in the club as its share price fell by 8.52 per cent.

 

It has not reached pre-transfer window levels since.