Man U. IPO Set to Price Next Week

In about 10 days, you’ll be able to own a piece of the world’s most valuable sports franchise.

Manchester United, the most popular club soccer team in Europe, is going public on a U.S. market after setting terms for a U.S. IPO yesterday. The English Premier League team plans to offer 16.67 million shares at between $16 and $20 a share when it goes public sometime next week. The club is expected to price its IPO on August 9.

At the high end of the range, the initial public offering would value Man. U. at $3.3 billion.

World-renowned and popular as they are, however, the financial picture isn’t all roses for Manchester United. The club anticipates revenue to dip between 3% and 5% this year. The club also carries a hefty debt load – one that it hopes its IPO will offset.

The offering will include both Class A and B shares. The Class B shares will carry 10 times the voting power of the Class A shares, which will be available to the “average” investor.

Manchester United stock will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol MANU. The team chose to list on a U.S. exchange after previous attempts to list in Singapore and Hong Kong failed.