The takeover battle for English Premier League side Arsenal between American and Russian billionaires could be about to end.
On Tuesday, Arsenal majority shareholder Stan Kroenke made a $777 million (£600m) offer to assume full control of the English Premier League club, which would take its value to $2.33 billion (£1.8 billion).
Kroenke, who currently owns 67% of the club through his company KSE, has put forward a proposal to buy the remainder of the club’s shares — 30% of which are owned by Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov and his company Red and White Securities. The deal was published on the London Stock Exchange Tuesday.
“We at KSE are moving forward with this offer leading to 100 per cent ownership of the club,” the statement read. “We appreciate Mr Usmanov’s dedication to the Arsenal Football Club and the storied ethos and history the club represents.”
Uzbek-born businessman Usmanov tycoon is worth $12.8 billion, according to Forbes, but he never attained a seat on the Arsenal board.
“KSE’s ambitions for the club are to see it competing consistently to win the Premier League and the Champions League, as well as the major trophies in the women’s senior game and at youth level,” added the KSE statement. Arsenal finished sixth last season and will play in the Europe’s second tier competition — the Europa League — during the 2018/2019 campaign.
