Billionaire money manager George Soros reported a nearly 2% stake in Manchester United last night.
This was one of the first revelations of investors in the British soccer club's controversial initial public offering earlier this month.
The veteran investor's eponymous hedge fund, Soros Fund Management, owns 7.85% of Manchester United's Class A shares, or about 1.9% of the entire club, a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission showed.
Manchester United, which went public on August 9, priced below its expected range amid broad skepticism about the valuation the club's owners wanted. It also made the identity of the eventual shareholders a matter of particular interest for other institutional investors.
The club is owned by the Glazer family, which has interests ranging from shopping malls to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers football team.
Soros is one of the most closely watched investors in the $2 trillion hedge fund industry, and oversees about $25 billion in assets, even after returning money to outside investors and converting his fund into a family office last summer. The firm now mainly manages money for Soros, his family and his foundation.
This is not the first time that the 82-year-old money manager has taken interest in a soccer club. In 2008, the billionaire eyed a takeover of Italian club AS Roma as the team struggled with debt issues but later decided against it.
The Glazers, who purchased Manchester United for £790m sterling in 2005 in a highly levered deal, have kept control of the club after the IPO. Manchester United fans have criticised the Glazers for over-levering the once debt-free team. The club's debt load stood at over £437m as of June 30.
Manchester United is not the only company struggling to boost its share price after a public offering, which has caught Soros's attention.
A recent quarterly regulatory filing revealed that he had bet on social networking giant Facebook in the second quarter, which yesterday hit a new low of $18.75, more than 50% below the price they were issued at in May. However, the stock did end the day 2.3% higher at $19.48.
Besides investing in headline-grabbing corporate stocks, it has been a busy summer for Soros, who recently announced his engagement to girlfriend Tamiko Bolton in Southampton. It will be Soros' third marriage and the second for his 40-year-old fiance.
The veteran investor rose to fame and fortune two decades ago on a now-historic trade, in which he successfully bet on the devaluation of the British pound and made $1 billion in the process.
