Arsenal Shareholders Will Not Up Stakes, May Lead To Takeover
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Kroenke Says He Has "No Intention"
Of Upping 12.4% Stake In Arsenal |
English Premier League (EPL) club Arsenal investors Stan Kroenke and Alisher Usmanov have "ruled out launching takeover bids" for the team, "paving way for a third party -- possibly from the Middle East -- to buy the club," according to Wayne Veysey of the LONDON TIMES. Arsenal investor Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith, who left the team's BOD last week, is "believed to be willing to listen to offers" for her 15.9% stake in the club, which makes her the third-largest shareholder. But Kroenke has said that he he has "'no intention' of increasing" his 12.4% stake. In addition, Usmanov indicated that he is "similarly reluctant to add" to his 24% holding, the largest single stake in the club, "given the economic climate" (LONDON TIMES, 12/21). Meanwhile, Arsenal BOD member Danny Fiszman, who is the club's second-largest shareholder, said that the team may offer Usmanov a "place on the board." Fiszman: "We are talking to each other on a reasonably continuous basis." Fiszman noted Usmanov and his associates are "coming to games, we are building a relationship." Fiszman last week met Farhad Moshiri, an investor in Usmanov's Red and White Holdings investment group, and Fiszman said the two were "discussing the principles of what was going on in football." Fiszman: "Moshiri stated that he thought our model of self-sustainability was absolutely the right model and would give us a bit of strength and position for the future" (London OBSERVER, 12/21).
DROP KICK: In London, White & Warshaw reported Bracewell-Smith's departure from Arsenal's BOD has allowed Fiszman to "tighten his grip on the club but also left it vulnerable to any potential takeover." Bracewell-Smith was Arsenal's fourth board member in the past 18 months to be "forced out," and Fiszman said that he hopes she will sell her share "back to the board but she is unlikely to want to do that after what she described as 'the appalling way' she had been treated." The "trigger point" of Bracewell-Smith's exit was the appointment of MLS Deputy Commissioner Ivan Gazidis as CEO, "seemingly on the advice" of Kroenke. Bracewell-Smith "disagreed with appointing someone with no experience of working" in the U.K (London TELEGRAPH, 12/20). Fiszman declined to answer why Bracewell-Smith "left in such a fashion," and was "defiant over Arsenal's handling of the situation." Fiszman: "I'm not going to add to anything I have already stated. She's free to do whatever she wants with her shares. I'm sure we will continue to manage the club reasonably well" (GUARDIAN.co.uk, 12/19).
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Rovers Could Fold If Relegated
From English Premier League
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MONEY TALKS: In London, James Ducker reported EPL club Blackburn Rovers Chair John Williams "fears that the club could go bust if they are relegated from" the EPL after this season. The team currently sits 19th of 20 teams, and the lowest three finishers at the end of the season are relegated to the Coca-Cola Football League Championship. Williams claims that the team's annual revenue would drop from US$82.9M to US$32.6M if the club is relegated. Williams: "There was a time when clubs got relegated that tomatoes were thrown at directors' cars and fans simply lost the bragging rights in the pub. These days you might end up losing your business" (LONDON TIMES, 12/20). Meanwhile, also in London, Martin Samuel writes the money that Newcastle United Owner Mike Ashley, Liverpool FC co-Owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett and West Ham United Owner Björgólfur Guðmundsson are seeking in attempts to sell their teams "suggests only one thing: these guys were not as smart as they thought they were." The owners "believed that they had spotted something that was undervalued when, in fact, it was overvalued." And they "won't admit they were wrong" (LONDON TIMES, 12/22).
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