Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford celebrates against Barcelona. Meanwhile the club’s stock was rising in late trading.
Getty Images
Manchester United
played out a thrilling 2-2 draw against Barcelona on Thursday but action off the pitch was also catching the eye.
Shares in the English Premier League club (ticker: MANU) soared 10% late in the day amid speculation it could receive a number of takeover bids later on Friday.
The stock continued higher in premarket trading, rising 1% ahead of the open.
The Glazer family, which owns
Manchester United,
has set a deadline of 10 p.m. U.K. time for initial bids to be made.
Investors linked to the Qatari royal family are preparing an opening bid of around £5 billion ($6 billion), according to a Bloomberg report Thursday, which cited people with knowledge of the matter.
Multiple private groups in Saudi Arabia have also entered the race for one of England’s most successful soccer clubs, the Telegraph newspaper reported.
Jim Ratcliffe, the billionaire owner of British chemicals giant INEOS Group, has publicly confirmed he intends to bid for the club.
With a number of bids expected, the final price for
Manchester United
could end up being pushed considerably higher. Investors certainly think, and hope, so as the shares jumped 9.8% to $26.87 Thursday. The stock is now 15% up so far in 2023, as of Thursday’s close.
Write to Callum Keown at callum.keown@barrons.com
Credit: marketwatch.com