The Raine Group — the investment banking firm advising the Glazers in the sale process  — aims to sell the club in the first quarter of 2023 at a price between $7.3 billion and $8.6 billion, according to The Athletic.

Given that Roman Abramovich sold Chelsea for $3.2 billion and RedBird Capital acquired AC Milan for $1.3 billion — and that Forbes values Man United at $4.6 billion, ranking third behind Real Madrid and Barcelona — the asking price for United sounds a bit overblown.

The Glazers acquired Man United in 2005 for about $1.4 billion, but sports franchises’ uptick and relative value have soared.

Big Tech’s interest in broadcasting rights expands the demand pool of buyers with deep pockets, raises bid prices, and boosts the related stakeholders’ values. And under growing global inflation, one would assume that a higher valuation is partly a product of the current macroeconomic environment.

In traditional finance, safe haven assets like treasury bills, gold, real estate, and even art are expected to retain or gain value during economic downturns.

Considering that a global economic recession is expected to arrive during Q1 of 2023, the timing for an increased demand for such investment vehicles — and Man United can be considered one — couldn’t be any better.

Manchester United trades in public markets and must disclose its financial information, allowing us to evaluate the premium — the proximity between the market price and the company’s valuation. 

Could Man United really go for over $7 billion? And if so, why?

Want to learn more? Check out the Man United report here.

ICYMI: Last week, we published a Report on SVODs and their strategy with original sports content. You can access that and all our previous reports on Pro HQ.