LONDON—E. Stanley Kroenke, a U.S. real-estate and sports investor, has agreed to acquire a controlling stake in Arsenal Football Club in a deal that values the renowned English soccer team at roughly £731 million ($1.2 billion).
In a move that would place the Premier League's top four clubs under foreign ownership, Kroenke Sports Enterprises agreed Monday to raise its holding in Arsenal from 29.9% to 62.89%, exceeding the threshold that gives Mr. Kroenke full control, the club said in a statement.
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Reuters
U.S. billionaire E. Stan Kroenke
By aquiring the 16% stakes held by board members Danny Fiszman and Nina Bracewell-Smith, KSE is now obliged under British takeover rules to launch a full bid for the remaining shares in the team.
"We are excited about the opportunity to increase our involvement with and commitment to Arsenal," Mr. Kroenke said in the statement. "Arsenal is a fantastic club with a special history and tradition and a wonderful manager in Arsène Wenger. We intend to build on this rich heritage and take the club to new success."
Mr. Kroenke, who owns the National Basketball Association's Denver Nuggets, the Colorado Avalanche in the National Hockey League, and the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer, is already Arsenal's single largest shareholder, with close to a 30% stake, and a member of the club's board.
He has painstakingly built up his shareholding in the Premier League team since first buying a 9.99% stake in April 2007. Alisher Usmanov, a Russian steel magnate, is Arsenal's other major shareholder, holding a 27% stake through his Red & White Holdings. KSE has offered to buy the remaining stock at a cost of £11,750 a share.
KSE said the cost of the takeover would not be placed on the club, unlike the highly leveraged buyouts of Manchester United and Liverpool in the past decade.
"The offer will not be funded by way of any debt finance (banks loans, payment in kind loans or other debt or quasi-debt interest bearing obligations) for which the payment of interest on, repayment of or security for any liability (contingent or otherwise) will depend on the business of Arsenal," the statement said.
According to Deloitte's Football Money League 2010 report, Arsenal is the world's fifth-largest soccer team by revenue and the second richest in England behind Manchester United, with €274.1 million ($396.4 million) during the 2009-10 season.
Mr. Kroenke's takeover of the club would place half of the Premier League's 20 teams under foreign ownership, including the league's top four clubs. Manchester United is owned by the family of U.S. businessman Malcolm Glazer, Chelsea by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich and Manchester City by Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan.
Arsène Wenger, the Arsenal manager, welcomed the takeover by KSE. "I have worked with Stan Kroenke at board meetings over the past couple of years and I believe he has the best interests of Arsenal at heart," Mr. Wenger said in a statement. "He understands the club's heritage and traditions and our ambition to run the club in a way which protects our long-term future."
On the field, Arsenal is chasing its first trophy since the 2005 FA Cup. The team is currently seven points behind Manchester United with seven matches remaining, including one in hand over the league leader.
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