曼联提交IPO申请 计划筹资1亿美元

Manchester United, the legendary English soccer club, filed plans to raise $100 million in an initial public offering in the U.S.

颇具传奇色彩的英国足球俱乐部曼彻斯特联队(Manchester United)提交了在美国进行首次公开募股(IPO)以筹资1亿美元的计划。

The move by the team's owners, the Glazer family, which also owns the National Football League's Tampa Bay Buccaneers, wasn't unexpected, but the filing provided a window into the finances of one of the most popular sports brands in the world.

曼联的所有者格雷泽(Glazer)家族此举并不出人意料，不过，曼联提交给监管机构的文件还是给外界提供了一个了解这支全世界最受欢迎球队之一财务状况的机会。格雷泽家族同时拥有美国国家橄榄球联盟(U.S. National Football League)的球队坦帕湾海盗队(Tampa Bay Buccaneers)。

According to the filing, United had $520 million in revenue last year. However, the team is also carrying some $664 million in debt, a sum that critics have said is preventing Manchester United from acquiring the top players in the world.

从监管文件上看，曼联去年的营业收入为5.2亿美元。但这支球队还有6.64亿美元的负债。批评人士说，曼联的负债水平使其难以聘请到世界最顶尖的球员。

The plan comes after a disappointing season for United, which has won 60 trophies during its 134-year history. The team was beaten out for the English Premier League title by crosstown rival Manchester City and was eliminated from the European club championship before the final knockout rounds of the tournament.

在134年的球队历史中，曼联共获得60个冠军奖杯。然而在提交IPO计划前，曼联刚刚经历了一个令人失望的赛季。曼联在英国超级足球联赛(English Premier League)中被同城对手曼彻斯特城足球俱乐部(Manchester City)打败，并且没能进入欧洲冠军杯赛(European club championship)淘汰赛阶段的比赛。

While the team is going through with the public offering, the Glazers intend to remain in full control. The team didn't set a launch date, stock symbol, price range or offering size, specifying only that there will be two share classes, Class A and Class B, with Class B controlling most of the voting rights. The team plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange.

尽管曼联正在实施IPO计划，格雷泽家族仍然打算保留对曼联的全面控制。曼联没有确定股票发行日期、股票代码、价格区间以及发行规模，只是明确表示上市后的曼联将有A类和B类两种股票，B类控制着大多数的投票权。曼联计划在纽约证券交易所(New York Stock Exchange)上市。

'The interests of our principal shareholder might not coincide with the interests of the other holders of our capital stock,' the filing warned.

曼联在提交给监管机构的文件中提醒说，我们最大股东获得的利益可能不会与其他股东获得的利益一致。

United included some other warnings for potential shareholders, indicating that much of its revenue is dependent on team performance. Failure to finish in the top four of the EPL would mean that United can't compete for the European club championship and get its share of media revenues for that tournament, which accounted for nearly 40% of its $115 million in broadcasting revenue in 2011. Game-day revenue dropped to $173.8 million in 2011 from $179.5 in 2010.

曼联还对潜在股东发出了其他提醒，它表示，曼联的营收主要取决于球队的表现。在英超联赛中未能进入前四强意味着曼联不能参加欧洲冠军杯的比赛，也就不能获得比赛的媒体收入，而曼联2011年获得的1.15亿美元比赛直播收入中，来自欧洲冠军杯赛的媒体收入接近40%。此外，曼联队的比赛日收入从2010年的1.795亿美元下降到了2011年的1.738亿美元。

Still, United remains a cash cow in international soccer. Insurance company Aon PLC pays the team $31.4 million to put its name on United's uniforms. A deal with sports-apparel maker Nike Inc. NKE +1.83% garnered the $40 million in 2011.

尽管如此，曼联仍然是国际足坛的一棵摇钱树。保险公司怡安集团(Aon PLC)为了在曼联的制服上做广告需要支付3,140万美元的广告费。曼联还从2011年与运动服制造商耐克(Nike Inc.)的一笔交易种获得了4,000万美元收入。