Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, said that he still wants to buy Arsenal "even after he was rebuffed by its owners in 2010," according to Paul Wallace of BLOOMBERG.
Nigeria’s Dangote, an Arsenal fan worth $15.7B, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, "discussed buying a stake in the club five years ago before talks with the owners fell through." Since then his wealth "has grown more than sevenfold." Dangote: "I still hope, one day at the right price, that I’ll buy the team. I might buy it, not at a ridiculous price but a price that the owners won’t want to resist. I know my strategy." A successful bid would make Dangote the first African owner of a club in a league where billionaires including Russia’s Roman Abramovich, the owner of Chelsea, and Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan, who controls Man City, "have acquired teams."
Stan Kroenke, worth $5.6B, holds 67% of Arsenal. About 30% is owned by Red & White Sec Ltd., controlled by billionaire Alisher Usmanov. Dan Tolhurst, a spokesperson for the London-based club, declined to comment, as did Rollo Head, a spokesperson for Usmanov in London. Tomago Collins, a spokesperson for Kroenke in Denver, "did not immediately respond to e-mails requesting comment." Dangote said that he is "too busy with existing projects to mount a bid now." He said, "We have $16 billion-worth of investments in the next few years. Right now I want to take my own business to a certain level. Once I finish on that trajectory, then maybe" an offer will follow (BLOOMBERG, 5/4).
