Manchester United Slides 7% As Ratcliffe’s Offer Comes Down To Wire

(Bloomberg) -- Manchester United shares gained after billionaire Jim Ratcliffe extended his offer to purchase a 25% stake in the football club until the end of this week.

Manchester United’s Class A shares rose more than 6% to nearly $21 in Monday’s post-market trading, after Ratcliffe pushed the deadline for his tender offer to Friday from midnight Tuesday. 

The advance erased losses from earlier in the trading day amid speculation over whether the offer would be extended. In December, Ratcliffe agreed to buy the stake by allowing investors to swap about one-quarter of their Class A stock holdings for $33 per share, well above the current market price. 

Read: Manchester United Tender Offer Extended by Ratcliffe to Feb. 16

The stock price traded around the mid-teens in 2022 before takeover rumors started, whipsawing the value of the shares. But the continued premium to its estimated market value suggested some anticipation that the deadline of Ratcliffe’s offer would be pushed back.

As of the close of Friday, 19.4 million shares had been validly tendered, according to a regulatory filing.

(Updates to show tender offer extension and price move post-market)

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.