Manchester United is moving forward with its initial public offering, disclosing on Monday that it is seeking $16 to $20 a share in its return to the public stock markets.
At the midpoint of that price range, the 134-year-old English soccer team's stock sale would raise about $333 million. The club itself would be valued at about $2.9 billion, including both Class A and Class B shares.
All told, Manchester United plans to sell about 16.6 million shares in the offering. Its underwriters have the option of selling an additional 2.5 million shares to cover additional demand.
Monday's amended prospectus brings Manchester United a step closer to regaining a stock ticker, this time in the United States. The team's controlling shareholder, Malcom Glazer, is selling shares that make up about half of the I.P.O.
The company had previously considered listing in Hong Kong and Singapore, with a listing on its hometown London Stock Exchange considered impossible because of the team's dual-class share structure.
Founded by railway workers, Manchester United has become one of the most prominent sports franchises on the planet, with players like Wayne Rooney becoming global superstars. The company estimated that during its 2010-2011 season, its games attracted an average live audience of 49 million people. And it sold more than 5 million licensed products in the past year, including 2 million jerseys.
(Those jerseys will eventually bear a new sponsor. Manchester United announced in a separate statement on Monday that it has signed a seven-year accord with General Motors to make Chevrolet its newest corporate sponsor, replacing the Aon Corporation. Among the team's previous sponsors was the American International Group.)
The offering is being led by the Jefferies Group, Credit Suisse, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank.
