Usmanov agreed to sell his stake in Arsenal to the main owner of the football club

by time news

American businessman Stan Kronke, who owns 67% of the English football club Arsenal, will buy 30% of the club from Russian businessman Alisher Usmanov. This is stated in the message of the KSE company, through which Krohnke manages the club.

“I made the decision to sell my shares in Arsenal Football Club, which may be the best football club in the world. I wish great success to the wonderful football club and everyone whose life and career are connected with it, “Usmanov said (his words were conveyed to Vedomosti by a businessman’s representative).

The message specifies that the American businessman intends to receive and the remaining interests of independent shareholders. Earlier, he received the corresponding irrevocable consent to the deal from Usmanov, Reuters notes. By information Financial Times, Kronke will pay Usmanov for his stake in the club 550 million pounds ($ 712 million) in cash… Forbes estimates the fortune of a Russian businessman at $ 12.5 billion, an American one at $ 8.3 billion.

As a result of the deal, the club will be valued at 1.8 billion pounds ($ 2.3 billion). This is slightly more than in October 2017, when Usmanov refused to sell his stake to Kronke for 525 million pounds ($ 680 million). Then the Russian businessman said that it was important to protect the interests of Arsenal and its fans. However, despite a 30% stake, Usmanov never had a seat on the club’s board of directors, and this made it difficult to sell his stake to any of the other interested parties, FT notes.

The two largest shareholders of the English Premier League club have fought for control of the club for many years, and both have tried to buy shares from each other. In July, the FT, citing sources, reported that Usmanov had begun actively exploring the possibility of selling his stake.

The interlocutors of the publication pointed out that the entrepreneur was convinced that it was impossible to buy a controlling stake in the club from Kronke and was seeking to withdraw from the asset. The businessman himself then refused to comment on this information to the newspaper. Prior to that, the Russian billionaire had repeatedly offered Kronke a deal, but he refused to negotiate. Earlier, he also said that he would like to sell the stake to any buyer who shares his views on the development of the club, but not to Kroenke.

Usmanov received shares in Arsenal back in 2007. Over time, the Russian businessman became the holder of the second largest stake. In April 2017, he approached Kronke with an offer to acquire his 67% stake in Arsenal for $ 1.3 billion, but then the American businessman refused this offer.

Kroenke also owns the LA Rams American football team and the Denver Nuggets NBA club. But the American is not popular with Arsenal fans, some of them blaming his management as the reason for the club’s poor performances.

The change in the ownership structure of the club coincided with the beginning of a new chapter for him and on the football field. This offseason, Spaniard Unai Emery became Arsenal’s head coach. He replaced the Frenchman Arsene Wenger, who led the team for 22 years.

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