Arsenal Chair Says Major Stakeholders Will Resist Takeover

Major Arsenal Shareholders Resisting Takeover By Kroenke

Premier League club Arsenal Chair Peter Hill-Wood said he and “three of the club’s major shareholders” — Danny Fiszman, Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith and the Carr family — have “no intention of selling to” Kroenke Sports Enterprises Owner Stan Kroenke and would be “horrified to see the club go across the Atlantic,” according to David Conn of the Manchester GUARDIAN. Kroenke bought ITV’s 9.9% stake in Arsenal earlier this month and has since “revealed that he had acquired further pockets of shares,” including 659 from Fiszman. But Hill-Wood said, “The club has been run for the benefit of supporters, staff and players, and the shareholders would prefer to stay in control than sell out to some stranger without the years of support they have.” Hill-Wood “maintains that the three Arsenal stakeholders, who collectively own about 44% of the club, believe a US takeover is unnecessary and would undermine the clubs character and traditions” (BLOGS.GUARDIAN.co.uk, 4/18).

WHAT DO MLS TEAM PARTNERSHIPS REALLY MEAN? While Kroenke’s Rapids entered into a commercial partnership with Arsenal earlier this year, the L.A. DAILY NEWS’ Nick Green noted that the Galaxy in ’04 announced a similar partnership with Brazilian club Sao Paulo that was to include collaborations in coaching, player development, sports medicine and marketing. But “aside from an exhibition game in Carson (Sao Paulo sent a largely second string team) and picking up one Brazilian player (who has since moved on), three years on the partnership is all but moribund.” Galaxy Dir of Communications Patrick Donnelly: “We haven’t had too many involvements with them. It’s hard to say right now if that’s dead or not” (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 4/17).