Top Belgian Soccer Team Shelves Initial Public Offering

(Bloomberg) -- Belgian soccer team Club Brugge has postponed an initial public offering in Brussels, citing market conditions.

Club Brugge announced its decision in a statement Thursday. The team had originally planned to price the IPO Thursday and begin trading Friday on Euronext Brussels, according to a prospectus filed last week.

Bloomberg News reported earlier that Club Brugge was considering shelving the listing due to weak investor demand.Club Brugge could still decide to proceed with a listing at a later date, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information.

Grizzly Sports NV, an investor group led by Chairman Bart Verhaeghe, had planned to sell at least 30% of the company in the IPO.

Club Brugge’s shares were being offered at 17.50 euros to 22.50 euros apiece, giving it market value of 229 million euros ($271 million) at the midpoint, according to its prospectus. The scrapped listing won’t affect the team’s plans for a new stadium, as Club Brugge wasn’t raising any new funds in the IPO.

Credit Suisse Group AG, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Berenberg and Belfius Bank worked on the listing.

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