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FBL-ENG-US-PR-ARSENAL-SPORT
US sports mogul Kroenke makes offer to buy Arsenal
LONDON, Aug 7, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Arsenal majority shareholder Stan Kroenke
on Tuesday announced an offer to buy the entire British football club,
valuing it at o1.8 billion ($2.3 billion, 2 billion euros).
The American sports mogul, who already owns 67 percent of Arsenal through
his company KSE, has reached a deal with Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov
for the sale of his 30 percent stake, according to a statement to the London
Stock Exchange.
“KSE believes moving to private ownership will bring the benefits of a
single owner better able to move quickly in furtherance of the club’s
strategy and ambitions,” it said in the statement.
“KSE is a committed, long-term owner of the club”.
Kroenke, owner of the Los Angeles Rams American football team, has been a
part-owner of Arsenal since 2007, gradually increasing his stake in the club
since.
Uzbekistan-born Usmanov, who made his fortune in the steel industry, had
reportedly made previous bids to take control of the club but was repeatedly
rebuffed.
He was critical of Kroenke’s passive ownership style, which has been
increasingly echoed by Arsenal fans unhappy with what they see as the board’s
willingness to settle for on-field mediocrity so long as commercial stability
was maintained.
Under takeover rules, if Usmanov accepts the offer it would trigger the
sale of the remaining minority shareholders’ shares, many of whom have
preserved a small holding for decades, and place the club under the private
control of Kroenke.
“We at KSE are moving forward with this offer leading to 100 percent
ownership of the club,” Kroenke said in the LSE statement.
“We appreciate Mr Usmanov’s dedication to the Arsenal Football Club and
the storied ethos and history the club represents.”
Further detail of the all-cash offer will be published by KSE later on
Tuesday, it said.
BSS/AFP/MSY/1353 hrs