Source: Telegraph
Stan Kroenke moves to within 10 shares of Arsenal takeover bid after increasing stake
Kroenke, who owns 29.9 percent of Arsenal, acquired seven more shares Thursday at a cost of 8,500 pounds each, the Premier League club said Friday in a statement to London's Plus Market stock exchange. [LNB]If the Denver-based businessman reaches 30 per cent, he has to make an offer for the remaining shares in Arsenal Holdings plc. [LNB] Related ArticlesBirmingham City v Arsenal: match previewArsene Wenger on Arsenal's title chancesEduardo's final step on road to recoveryMcLeish: Eduardo leg-break a distant memoryLoic Remy wants Arsenal moveSport on televisionIf Kroenke manages to acquire more than 50 pe rcent of the shares he will gain legal control of the club. If he reaches 90 per cent he can compulsorily purchase the remaining shares. [LNB]But if he fails to surpass the 50 percent level, he is prohibited from making another takeover bid for at least a year — unless asked to do so by the club. [LNB]Russian businessman Alisher Usmanov — the club's second-largest shareholder — signaled his interest in a takeover in December by taking his stake beyond 26 per cent through his investment vehicle Red and White Holdings. [LNB]Unlike Kroenke, Usmanov has not been invited on the board of directors. [LNB]Kroenke, who first bought a 9.99 percent stake in Arsenal in April 2007, also owns the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer, the NBA's Denver Nuggets and the NHL's Colorado Avalanche.[LNB][LNB][LNB]
