Arsenal fans angry over Alisher Usmanov 'sale' amid fears Stan Kroenke will take club private

Shares for sale? Usmanov is reportedly exploring the sale of his 30.4 per cent share in Arsenal
Bongarts/Getty Images
Giuseppe Muro24 July 2018

Arsenal fans fear their club will be run from America if Alisher Usmanov sells his stake to US majority shareholder Stan Kroenke.

The Financial Times reported this morning that Usmanov is actively exploring the sale of his 30.4 per cent share in Arsenal after accepting that Kroenke will never sell full control to him.

Russian billionaire Usmanov failed with a £1bn takeover bid to buy out Kroenke in May last year and has become frustrated at not having a seat on the board or any say over the running of the club. He turned down Kroenke’s £525m offer for his shares in October.

Kroenke owns a 67 per cent stake in Arsenal and there are fears that if he acquires the club outright then it could lead to a reduction in transparency.

A spokesman for the Arsenal Supporters’ Trust told Standard Sport “The AST would be very concerned at any outcome that saw the club wholly owned by Stan Kroenke.

“If he bought Alisher Usmanov’s shares, the likelihood is he would take the club private, forcing out the remaining custodian shareholders. This would reduce scrutiny in how Arsenal operate and allow its corporate structure to be moved to the United States. It would not be good for those who care about Arsenal being run the right way.

“Arsenal is too important to be owned by any one person and there should be a plurality of ownership, including supporters, involved in the club. There would be concern at the idea that Stan Kroenke has absolute control of Arsenal Football Club and the likelihood that its legal status would be transferred to the United States.”

Usmanov and Kroenke have had a long-running battle for control. The pair have contrasting visions for the direction of the club.

Fans fear Kroenke would take Arsenal private if he gets shares
REUTERS

Kroenke needs a 75 per cent share to pass special resolutions without putting them to a vote and if he reaches that threshold he could delist the club or load debt onto it.

“The AST can understand the frustration of someone who owns 30 per cent of Arsenal but is not given any involvement in how the club is run,” said the spokesman.

“The AST believe that Usmanov’s holding is important for maintaining plurality and have always called for the board to work with Usmanov to make Arsenal stronger. Stan Kroenke’s refusal to engage with supporters, including breaking a pledge he made at the time of his takeover, demonstrates why this would alarm all Arsenal fans who care how the club is run.”

Arsenal declined to comment on Tuesday's development.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in