Manchester United's shares have suffered from reports that the Monopolies and Mergers Commission is set to block British Sky Broadcasting's takeover of the football club. This would be hard to justify on competition grounds. After all, why should sports rights be treated differently from other must-have content? And the MMC would lack imagination if it could not think up workable conditions to manage conflicts of interest when Premiership broadcasting rights are next auctioned.
Still, that risk explains why, at 223p, Man Utd shares are at a 13 per cent discount to the pay-television operator's offer. And given that BSkyB's offer represents a 61 per cent premium to the 159p pre-bid level, an MMC ban would hurt. But the shares would be unlikely to fall all the way back. By agreeing the BSkyB offer, Man Utd has put itself up for sale, meaning that some bid premium would stay in the shares. But since banning a BSkyB bid would probably also preclude a bid from the likeliest other bidder, Carlton's and Granada's rival pay-TV platform, On Digital, that premium might be small.
Even so, since the bid was launched a lot has gone Man Utd's way on the pitch, notably in the European Champions' League, which will boost this year's turnover to near the £100m mark. And its forthcoming results are likely to be a powerful reminder of how successfully it has capitalised on its status as the UK's most powerful sporting brand. Nearly half its revenues now come from merchandise sales and TV revenue. Trading at nearly six times sales, stand-alone Man Utd is not cheap.
But then it has not yet disappointed either its shareholders or its fans. Copyright Financial Times Limited 1999. All Rights Reserved.