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Arsenal majority shareholder Stan Kroenke bid almost £525M ($695.1M) "to buy out Alisher Usmanov, the second-largest shareholder who has tried several times to wrest control of the club," according to Amy Lawrence of the London GUARDIAN. Kroenke owns 67% of Arsenal, while Usmanov has a 30.4% stake. The remaining shares belong to minority shareholders, "many of whom have preserved a small holding for decades, even passing down the generations." Having two main investors "who do not have a working relationship, despite having been on the scene for the past 10 years and who appear to hold one another in low regard, is not a healthy situation." Usmanov has "never been able to secure a seat on the board or influence any decisions and both men know this will continue with the current awkwardly cut pieces of the Arsenal cake." Both parties have tried to "force a change." If Kroenke succeeds in his attempt to buy out Usmanov, it would take his percentage to 97%. It would "put him in a position to squeeze out the minority shareholders" and presents the risk Arsenal would become a privately-owned business. The consequences of that are "troubling for the 130-year-old club." As well as removing any requirement for the publication of accounts or an annual general meeting, the option of registering the business in the U.S., to be based under the Kroenke Sports & Entertainment umbrella in Delaware, "would open up." There would also be "no internal barriers to using Arsenal as leverage in deals," as the Glazer family did with ManU (
GUARDIAN, 10/3).
TRUST FACTOR: In London, Jeremy Wilson reported the Arsenal Supporters' Trust will contact Usmanov and "urge him not to sell his stake in the club" to Kroenke "amid concern that a full takeover has become an imminent possibility." The issue was the "main talking point" at a meeting on Monday of Arsenal fans, and "communication is now being sought with Usmanov in which he will be told by supporters that his presence still represents an important check and balance within the club's ownership structure." Usmanov has "always previously said that he will not sell his stake." Kroenke turned down a £1B offer for his 67% stake from Usmanov earlier this year and, like his fellow billionaire, "has always publicly stressed that there is no prospect of him selling." Usmanov's stake currently allows him to "block special resolutions and any attempt to delist the company" or make a compulsory "squeeze out" of small shareholders (TELEGRAPH, 10/3).
