Soros takes piece of Manchester United

Billionaire financier George Soros is getting in on the game, taking a minority stake in English football club Manchester United.

Soros disclosed in a regulatory filing on Monday that he owns 7.85 per cent of Manchester United’s Class A shares. The filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission was made by Soros’s hedge fund, Soros Fund Management LLC.

The 134-year-old English Premier League club went public on the New York Stock Exchange this month.

The American family that owns the team, the Glazers, have voting control over it through Class B shares that have 10 times the voting power of the stock sold to the public.

The Glazer family also owns the American football team the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Malcolm Glazer is CEO of First Allied Corp, a holding company with numerous business interests. His two sons Avram and Joel are co-chairmen of Manchester United.

While Manchester United has rabid fan support, it did not receive as hearty of a welcome on the public sharemarket. Its debut over a week ago was considered disappointing, with enthusiasm for the celebrated team overshadowed by its debt load and financial track record.

Manchester United carried STG416.7 million ($A630.65 million) in debt as of March 31. It had no debt when it was bought by the Glazer family in 2005.

The club’s stock closed at $US14 ($A13.46) on its first trading day, valuing the club at $US2.3 billion, slightly higher than the record $US2 billion paid for the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team this year.

The company’s stock closed at $US13.06 on Monday, down by seven per cent from its debut.

Stay up to date with the latest sports news
Follow our social accounts to get exclusive content and all the latest sporting news!