Man United ownership update as £54m U-turn confirmed

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Man United are a unique club in so many ways, not least because they are the only publicly traded club in England.

When United first floated on the New York Stock Exchange in 2012, it was widely viewed as a measure to address the £400m-plus debt associated with the Glazers‘ leveraged buyout almost a decade earlier.

And while that was demonstrably true, their listing on the largest trading market in the world is also an endorsement of the gravity of their brand.

Around 22.5 per cent of the club is now publicly owned, which is just five per cent shy of the stake owned by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, now the most powerful individual at Old Trafford.

When Ratcliffe invested in United after a protracted takeover saga in February this year, the markets responded positively.

The share price increased to its highest level since the September 2023 crash, when it was first reported that the Glazers were considering a partial rather than full sale.

In the latest developments in New York, it appears that one investment group have capitalised on the turbulence caused by the ownership rigmarole to great effect.

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Ariel Investments become third-largest Man United shareholder

Ariel Investments, a Chicago-based financial institution, first bought into Man United in 2021.

In November 2022, the Glazers announced that they were exploring strategic investment in the club – potentially with the view to a full takeover.

The stock price soared, and Ariel Investments seemingly spied an opportunity.

They divested their stock when the share price peaked at $23, selling their 3m shares for a total of £54m.

Now, as relayed by outlets such as Sportico, Ariel have since bought up the bulk of those shares again for a lower price and regained their status as United’s single biggest institutional shareholder.

The reuptake in shares in recent weeks means they now own 8.3m shares in total, which is just under five per cent company and 15.7 per cent of the club’s Class A shares.

What is Ariel Investments’ long-term strategy at Man United?

Although the markets control more than 20 per cent of United’s overall equity, the company’s constitution gives them just three per cent of the voting rights.

And as the external investment in the club is so pluralised, the 20 per cent can rarely mobilise to act as a bloc and exercise their three per cent say in club governance in any case.

So what do Ariel Investments want from United? Yes, United pay a dividend but the yield is not especially high.

It is perhaps telling that, on social media platform X, Ariel Investments’ profile picture is a cartoon tortoise holding a trophy aloft accompanies by the slogan ‘slow and steady wins the race’.

They see United as a capital appreciation project and will cash out when they think the club has reached peak enterprise value, or when a buyer wants to take 100 per cent control of the club.

Many investors believe that football is approaching a big bang moment in terms of untapped revenue – it is why private equity is becoming so immersed in the sport.

Many hoped that the European Super League would be the holy grail, but that star-crossed breakaway project has been and gone. So the financiers will have to wait, for now.