Earlier this week, multiple large Manchester United Twitter accounts reported on a stock offering and claimed the Glazers sold Class B shares directly to a US-based investor. This would be gigantic news since the Glazer Family has never sold Class B shares directly to any third party to date.
The Glazers would never sell Class B shares directly due to the special privileges those shares hold over the controlling ownership of Manchester United stock. The Glazer Class B shares hold a 10-1 voting ratio versus the Manchester United Class A shares that are sold on the NYSE. Additionally, if one share of Class B remains outstanding at any point the Glazers have controlling ownership over Manchester United. If you want to read more about Manchester United’s unique share structure check our article that details the difference between the two here.
The filing that sparked the mistaken reporting was a 13-b filing with the SEC. Unfortunately for us fans looking for a sign the Glazers want out, this is just a routine disclosure required from investors who own more than 5% of the common stock. What this filing tells us is that Ariel Investments LLC recently acquired shares that bring their total position greater than 5% of Manchester United. They currently hold ~13% of Manchester United but from a voting perspective, these shares have virtually no say at the board level compared to the Glazers. The shares were acquired in the open market and were not offered by the Glazers in any way. In short, this SEC filing a nothing burger that Twitter tried to turn into something.
The next event to look out for is Manchester United’s fourth-quarter earnings call. The call is scheduled for Friday, 17 September 2021 at 8:00 AM EST to discuss the results. Manchester United will report top-line financial results and file with the SEC shortly after.
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