We know that Manchester City Limited, the holding company of MCFC Limited, has been transferred to Midco. So has MCWFC Limited, along with other UK companies such as City Football Image Rights Limited, City Football Investments Limited, City Football Marketing Limited, City Football Services Limited and City Football UK Holdings Limited. The number of shares is remarkably specific and thus likely significant, but how?
It seems entirely possible that it might indeed reflect a valuation of some sort. But given that the companies below Midco in the structure include MCFC Limited (even if Midco holds that one indirectly), it surely can't be intended to represent the value of the above, can it? MCFC Limited is worth well in excess of GBP 800 million given the presence of MCFC Limited as a subsidiary. It's difficult to be sure what they're doing, because we simply don't have enough information, and in particular whether foreign CFG entities are also below Midco in the overall structure.
My first thought was that CFG want to separate out the holdings in different markets so you have a range of CFG subsidiaries, quite possibly not incorporated in the UK, with each one holding the companies that operate in a given market. Thus you could have a subsidiary incorporated in China called something like CFG China that holds CFG's shares in the part-owned Sichuan Jiuniu, plus owns CFG Academy China if they set up something like that, and so on.
The advantage of that structure is that you can attract investors who want a piece of the action in a given market but who don't want (or no longer wish to have) involvement in the worldwide Group. I suspect that CMC, with its holding in CFG now reduced to 1%, will continue to hold its 30% of the shares in the Sichuan club, but maybe it will also invest in wider CFG activity in China if or when we expand our operations there.
But I'm guessing, of course. However, it does seem that something might be going on - though it could eventually prove not to be especially interesting even for geeks like me. If I have time, I might delve through all the filings about CFG companies that I can find on the Companies House over the coming days and weeks to see whether there are further clues.
One thing worth noting is that it further discredits the idea that City is purely a state-focused sportswashing vehicle. Corporate machinations of this kind would be completely unnecessary if the whole exercise were simply aimed at promoting Abu Dhabi and distracting from a human rights record that seems to draw particular ire mainly from people who never mentioned the topic until an Emirati royal turned this project into a conspicuous success.