Source: Team_Talk
Kroenke edges closer to takeover
Kroenke's latest acquisition, at a cost of some £85,000, continues the trend of picking up stock at regular intervals, recently buying 100 from chairman Peter Hill-Wood, yet without making a formal bid for overall control at the Premier League club.[LNB]A statement to the PLUS Market, where Arsenal's parent holding company are listed, read: "On 20th November 2009, Arsenal Holdings plc (the "Company") received notification that on 19th November 2009 Stan Kroenke, a director of the Company, acquired 10 ordinary shares of £1.00 each in the Company at a price of £8,500 per share.[LNB]"Taking into account such acquisition, Stan Kroenke has a beneficial interest in, and controls voting rights over, 18,604 ordinary shares in the Company, representing 29.9% of the Company's issued ordinary shares."[LNB]Under the strict financial rules of the City, were Kroenke - who owns the Denver Nuggets basketball team - to cross the 29.99% takeover threshold, with around 62 more shares, he would be obliged to make a formal offer for the remainder of the shares at the highest price paid for stock during the past 12 months, which was £10,500 in May.[LNB]However, shareholders would not be forced to sell, and so after the offer had been made, if Kroenke, already on the Arsenal board, was not able to reach 50%, then he could not return to make another takeover offer for 12 months, unless invited to do so by the company.[LNB]It has been suggested Kroenke's continued steady investment is designed to fend off possible aggressive moves by Russian Alisher Usmanov, whose Red & White Holdings have just over 25% of the club.[LNB]Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith, who left the board during December last year, could well hold the balance of power with her family's 15.9% stake, which if sold to either Kroenke or Usmanov would push both well past the takeover threshold.[LNB][LNB]
