Manchester United PLC (NYSE: MANU) is being supported by its underwriters if the volume and pricing is of use. The formal IPO was 16.6 million shares at $14.00. We heard the Bloomberg report earlier today that the opening price was up at $14.05. Considering that the previous price range had been $16 to $20 per share, this was a disappointment. That market value being sought at $3 billion has ended up more like $2.3 billion market cap.
Here is what possible Man-U investors need to know. This IPO was very similar to the Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) IPO and very similar to the Web 2.0 (or 3.0) IPOs you have seen and potentially been stung by since the end of 2011. We have repeated this over and over so we’ll leave it at that.
Shares are trading at $14.00 right now and the 11:45 AM EST trading volume was already challenging 22 million shares. That means that the entire IPO float has traded already. As of now, the intraday trading range has been $14.00 to $14.19.
If it is hanging in there at $14.00 then it seems as though it is being supported by the underwriting syndicate. These are the firms which would be lending support as they are listed as the book-running syndicate managers: Jefferies & Company, Inc. (NYSE: JEF); Credit Suisse Group (NYSE: CS) via Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) via J.P. Morgan Securities; Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) via BofA Merrill Lynch; and Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE: DB) via Deutsche Bank Securities.
As a reminder, Man-U would easily fit on our list of Companies Where Shareholders Have No Power – At All. The company will also be subject to less reporting as it is listed under the JOBS Act and its listing structure for the New York ADR is reportedly not allowed in England where the Manchester United team is actually based.
JON C. OGG
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