re: The Glazers really don’t care, update . Joel kinda responds to the fans

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In May 2005, Malcolm Glazer purchased the 28.7 per cent stake held by McManus and Magnier, thus acquiring a controlling interest through his investment vehicle Red Football Ltd in a highly leveraged takeover valuing the club at approximately £800 million (then approx. $1.5 billion).[172] Once the purchase was complete, the club was taken off the stock exchange.[173] Much of the takeover money was borrowed by the Glazers; the debts were transferred to the club. As a result, the club went from being debt-free to being saddled with debts of £540 million, at interest rates of between 7% to 20%.[15][174][175]

In July 2006, the club announced a £660 million debt refinancing package, resulting in a 30 per cent reduction in annual interest payments to £62 million a year.[176][177] In January 2010, with debts of £716.5 million ($1.17 billion),[178] Manchester United further refinanced through a bond issue worth £504 million, enabling them to pay off most of the £509 million owed to international banks.[179] The annual interest payable on the bonds – which were to mature on 1 February 2017 – is approximately £45 million per annum.[180] Despite restructuring, the club's debt prompted protests from fans on 23 January 2010, at Old Trafford and the club's Trafford Training Centre.[181][182] Supporter groups encouraged match-going fans to wear green and gold, the colours of Newton Heath. On 30 January, reports emerged that the Manchester United Supporters' Trust had held meetings with a group of wealthy fans, dubbed the "Red Knights", with plans to buying out the Glazers' controlling interest.[183] The club's debts reached a high of £777 million in June 2007.[184]

In August 2011, the Glazers were believed to have approached Credit Suisse in preparation for a $1 billion (approx. £600 million) initial public offering (IPO) on the Singapore stock exchange that would value the club at more than £2 billion;[185] however, in July 2012, the club announced plans to list its IPO on the New York Stock Exchange instead.[186] Shares were originally set to go on sale for between $16 and $20 each, but the price was cut to $14 by the launch of the IPO on 10 August, following negative comments from Wall Street analysts and Facebook's disappointing stock market debut in May. Even after the cut, Manchester United was valued at $2.3 billion, making it the most valuable football club in the world.[187]

The New York Stock Exchange allows for different shareholders to enjoy different voting rights over the club. Shares offered to the public ("Class A") had 10 times lesser voting rights than shares retained by the Glazers ("Class B").[188] Initially in 2012, only 10% of shares were offered to the public.[189] As of 2019, the Glazers retain ultimate control over the club, with over 70% of shares, and even higher voting power.[190]

In 2012, The Guardian estimated that the club had paid a total of over £500 million in debt interest and other fees on behalf of the Glazers,[191] and in 2019, reported that the total sum paid by the club for such fees had risen to £1 billion.[175] At the end of 2019, the club had a net debt of nearly £400 million.

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