Arsenal Takeover Battle Edges Nearer

A takeover battle at Arsenal FC edged nearer after US sports entrepreneur Stan Kroenke became the club’s biggest shareholder. He leapfrogged Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov by paying a premium for the shares. Mr Kroenke splashed out up to £50m to lift his stake from 20.5 per cent to 28.3 per cent, just short of the 30 per cent threshold which would trigger a full takeover for the North London club. He paid between £8,500 and £10,000 for the shares, which are traded irregularly on London’s Plus market.

A takeover battle at Arsenal FC edged nearer after US sports entrepreneur Stan Kroenke became the club’s biggest shareholder. He leapfrogged Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov by paying a premium for the shares. Mr Kroenke splashed out up to £50m to lift his stake from 20.5 per cent to 28.3 per cent, just short of the 30 per cent threshold which would trigger a full takeover for the North London club. He paid between £8,500 and £10,000 for the shares, which are traded irregularly on London’s Plus market. This would give Arsenal a market value of up to £650m, although the shares closed at just £6,750 at the end of the week. They were bought from football club (but not plc) director Richard Carr. The size of the stake owned by the rest of the Carr family, which included Carr’s older brother Clive Carr, came as something of a surprise because Richard Carr was previously listed as owning only 4.75 per cent of the club. Carr was instrumental in financing the building of the North Bank at Highbury through a controversial bond issue.

The move is likely to be interpreted as the Arsenal board shoring up its defences against a possible takover by Usmanov. Red and White holdings, Mr Usmanov’s vehicle, continues to hold a stake of just over 25 per cent. Analysts believe that the club is worried about Mr Usmanov teaming up with Lady Nina Bracewell Smith, who was ousted from the board last year and owns 15.9 per cent, or buying her stake and launching a hostile bid. The club was ranked as the sixth richest in Europe in a survey by Deloitte in February.

 

UPDATE: ‘Concert Party’ Allegations at Arsenal

The Takeover Panel is examining US sports entrepreneur Stan Kroenke’s purchase of shares in Arsenal. The City watchdog is invesigating Kroenke’s deal in March to buy shares from Danny Fiszman, which saw the American’s holding rise from 12.4 per cent to 20 per cent and Fiszman’s stake drop to 18 per cent. The panel is said to be looking whether Fiszman and Kroenke should be regarded as concert parties – working together to control the club. Arsenal emphasised: ‘There is no suggestion that anyone connected with the club has behaved improperly or broken any rule.’ It said the club is co-operating with the regulators to help them understand ‘various matters relating to shareholders in the company’ and added: ‘The panel has stated that there is no suggestion of any improper action by the club or persons connected with it.’ Alisher Usmanov’s Red and White Holdings said: ‘We need to understand whether one shareholder is being given preferential treatment in buying shares.’