Manchester United IPO Shows Soccer's Limited Investor Appeal

Shares of mega soccer team Manchester United (MANU: 14.03, +0.03, +0.21%) hovered just above their offering price of $14 in early trading after debuting Friday on the New York Stock Exchange. Analysts had widely predicted a lukewarm welcome in U.S. markets for shares of the beloved 134-year-old British team, often described as the most popular professional sports team in the world. The shares were trading at $14.04 recently, just pennies above the IPO price, which was itself disappointing. Weak demand from institutional investors ahead of last night's pricing forced lead underwriter Jefferies (JEF: 13.10, -0.24, -1.80%) to lower the price below the initially anticipated range of $16 to $20. Manchester United, or Man U, as they are affectionately called by their millions of fans, raised $233 million through the sale of 16.7 million shares. Continue reading this article

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