Purchase of ordinary shares in Manchester United PLC - Requirement for a mandatory offer to be made by Rothschild on behalf of Red Football Limited ("Red") under Rule 9 of the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers
Red has today acquired 75,736,960 ordinary shares of 10 pence each ("Shares") in Manchester United PLC ("Manchester United"), representing approximately 28.7 per cent. of the issued share capital of Manchester United, from The Cubic Expression Company Limited ("Cubic") at a price of 300 pence for each Share.
Prior to the purchase from Cubic, Red Football Limited Partnership group, the
ultimate parent company of Red, owned 74,149,233 Shares, representing
approximately 28.1 per cent. of the issued share capital of Manchester United.
As a result of the purchase from Cubic, the Red Football Limited Partnership
group has acquired, in aggregate, 149,886,193 Shares, representing approximately 56.9 per cent. of the issued share capital of Manchester United.
Accordingly, Red is now required to make an offer, in accordance with the
provisions of Rule 9 of the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers, for the issued share capital of Manchester United which is not already owned by Red or any other member of the Red Football Limited Partnership group (the "Offer").
The acquisition by Red of 75,736,960 Shares from Cubic has been settled and therefore the Offer will, when formally made, be unconditional from the outset.
The Offer will be 300 pence in cash for each Share, valuing the entire issued share capital of Manchester United at approximately £790.3 million.
A further announcement containing more detailed terms of the Offer will be made shortly. The Offer document will be posted to Manchester United shareholders in due course.
The availability of the Offer to Manchester United shareholders who are not
resident in the United Kingdom may be affected by the laws of the relevant
jurisdictions in which they are located or of which they are citizens. Such
persons should inform themselves of, and observe, any applicable legal or
regulatory requirements of those jurisdictions. Further details in relation to
overseas shareholders will be contained in the Offer document.
The Offer will not be made, directly or indirectly, in, into or from Australia,
Canada, Japan or the United States and the Offer will not be capable of
acceptance from or within Australia, Canada, Japan or the United States.
Accordingly, copies of this announcement are not being, and must not be,
directly or indirectly, mailed or otherwise forwarded, distributed or sent in,
into or from Australia, Canada, Japan or the United States and persons receiving this announcement (including custodians, nominees and trustees) must not mail or otherwise distribute or send it in, into or from such jurisdictions as doing so may invalidate any purported acceptance of the Offer.
Rothschild, which is regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Services Authority, is acting for Red and no one else in connection with the Offer and will not be responsible to anyone other than Red for providing the protections afforded to clients of Rothschild or for providing advice in relation to the
Offer.