KEVIN GLAZER is set to cash out of Manchester United. He is the first of the six Glazer siblings to break rank since their late father, Malcolm, took control of the club 14 years ago. The news comes in the wake of United announcing that they will suffer a fall in revenue this season for […]
KEVIN GLAZER is set to cash out of Manchester United.
He is the first of the six Glazer siblings to break rank since their late father, Malcolm, took control of the club 14 years ago.
The news comes in the wake of United announcing that they will suffer a fall in revenue this season for the first time in years.
The club also needs to find a new shirt sponsor with Chevrolet declining to extend their £450million, seven-year deal.
SunSport revealed last year that the Saudi Arabian government wanted to buy the Glazers out, only to be told that United was not for sale.
And Kevin Glazer’s move does not mean fans dreaming of new owners will be granted their wish anytime soon.
Documents recently filed with the USA’s Securities and Exchange Commission show that Kevin has converted all his B class shares into A class stock.
As ever with the secretive Glazer family, you have to read between the lines to try to work out what Kevin Glazer’s move means.
What seems certain is that Kevin wants out and will now have brokers busily finding buyers prepared to turn his shares into a nest egg worth hundreds of millions of pounds.
If he’s not really interested in United, it looks like a good call.
The issues on the pitch will need big investment to fix, and if they’re not fixed, they will start having a significant effect on the bottom line.
Rather than wait for a turnaround – or further decline – Kevin’s decided to bite the bullet and count the money.
But in a sense, it doesn’t really change anything at United, at least not in the short term.
Even if only Joel and Avi Glazer are truly committed to staying in control of the club, the family philosophy of using United as a cash cow will remain in place – just with fewer Glazers involved.
They will have their work cut out to find new ways to squeeze more money out of the United name.
Will someone emerge to make an offer that even those two can’t refuse? United fans will hope so, but they won’t be holding their breath.
It is class A shares that are traded on the New York Stock Exchange and financial experts say the only conceivable reason for the transfer is to sell up.
The 20,899,366 A shares now owned by the Kevin Glazer Irrevocable Exempt Family Trust are worth about £270m at the current price.
Kevin has also declared control, via KEGT Holdings, of a further 3,765,392 A shares, worth close to £50m.
But Kevin’s decision to sell up will make it more difficult for any of his five siblings to do the same in the short term.
Any individual or company interested in buying Kevin’s A shares is likely to ask for “lock-in” guarantees that the other Glazers won’t sell their shares for a specified period of time.
That is because another sale of a significant number of shares would drive the share price down and so devalue their investment in Kevin’s stock.
There have been rumours that Bryan, Edward and Darcie Glazer would also like to cash in their United stakes.
But Joel and Avi, co-chairmen of Manchester United plc, are said to have no intention of giving up United and rebuffed interest from Saudi Arabia earlier this year.
Kevin’s conversion of his B class shares, each of which has 10 votes compared to one each for A class shares, actually has the effect of giving each of the other five Glazers more control of the club.
AVRAM GLAZER, 58
Known as Avie, the eldest child of Malcolm and Linda Glazer has been co-chairman of United, with brother Joel, since 2005.
His earlier business career included being chairman and chief executive of the Zapata Corporation, which was founded by George W Bush, later the 41st President of the USA.
JOEL GLAZER, 48
As well as his involvement with United, Joel is co-chairman,with brothers Bryan and Edward, of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the NFL franchise the family bought in 1995.
Under their tenure, the Bucs won their first Super Bowl in 2003 and opened a new stadium where home team touchdowns are marked by cannons firing from a 103-foot replica pirate ship.
BRYAN GLAZER, 54
Also a former Zapata executive. Takes control of a lot of the day-to-day running of the NFL team and had a big ole in the design and construction of the Raymond James Stadium.
In 2015 made a $4million contribution to setting up the Bryan Glazer Jewish Community Center in Tampa.
KEVIN GLAZER, 56
Co-chairman of First Allied Corporation, the real estate company which is the foundation of the family’s fortune.
He’s also the director of a banking firm, a commercial refrigeration business and the Houlihan’s restaurant chain.
DARCIE GLAZER KASSEWITZ, 50
Executive vice-present of First Allied Corporation.
She is co-president and main driving force of the Glazer Family Foundation which established a Children’s Museum in Tampa and does a lot of philanthropic work in the city, much of it linked to the Bucs.
EDWARD GLAZER, 48
Co-president of the Foundation.
The Glazers are known as supporters of Donald Trump, but although Ed hosted a fundraiser for Trump and donated $250,000 to his inaugural committee, but also gave $5,400 to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign.
Cashed in £30m of United shares in December 2014, barely six months after father Malcolm’s death.
