Manchester United Plc (NYSE:MANU) New York listed shares advanced in Monday morning trading as the Red Devil’s Premier League rivals Liverpool FC were put up for sale by the Fenway Sports Group (FSG).
United's shares added more than 4%, trading at US$13.47 per share on Wall Street, valuing the Manchester club at just over US$2.2bn.
Boston Red Sox owner FSG hired bankers at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to handle a potential sale of Jurgen Klopp’s 2020 Premier League winners, according to reports which broke earlier today in the United Kingdom.
The story, first reported by The Athletic magazine, said a sales deck had been produced for interested parties and it was open to offers.
FSG, which owns the Boston Red Sox in Major League Baseball and the Pittsburgh Penguins in the National Hockey League acquired the Premier League club 12 years ago for £300mln.
In a statement, the US company and principal owner John W Henry said: “There have been a number of recent changes of ownership and rumours of changes in ownership at EPL clubs and inevitably we are asked regularly about Fenway Sports Group’s ownership in Liverpool.”
“FSG has frequently received expressions of interest from third parties seeking to become shareholders in Liverpool.”
“Under the right terms and conditions we would consider new shareholders if it was in the best interests of Liverpool as a club,” it said.
Earlier this year, Chelsea was sold to Todd Boehly and fellow investors for £4.2bn.
Boehly is a co-owner of Los Angeles Dodgers, with a 20% stake, and the Los Angeles Sparks WNBA franchise, and is also stakeholder in DraftKings.
Takeover talk has been rife in Premier League soccer circles since Boehly picked up Chelsea at a premium price amid stiff opposition, even though the club was on the market in forced circumstances after Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich became subject to international sanctions earlier this year.
The evidently rising M&A speculation also comes as recent reports suggest certain stakeholders in the failed European Super League breakaway may resurrect the project.
United’s unpopular owners, the Glazer family, which also own the Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFL franchise, have also been rumoured to potentially being open to either an outright or partial sale of the Manchester club in order to raise funds and cover the costs of what’s expected to be an expensive stadium renovation in the coming years.