Usmanov sparks boardroom battle in bid to take 30 per cent of Arsenal shares

By David Gold

October 13 – Alisher Usmanov, the second wealthiest man in English football, has written to Arsenal shareholders in a bid to push his stake in the Premier League club to 30 per cent.

Majority shareholder Stan Kroenke launched a takeover of the team in April when he bought the stakes owned by Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith and the late Danny Fiszman, leaving him with a controlling share of 66.82 per cent.

Usmanov, who owns 29.5 per cent of the club, is now moving ahead with a fresh move to up his stake after offering $23,000 (£14,500/€16,500) for each share held by minority shareholders.

That he is willing to offer almost $4,700 (£3,000/€3,400) more per share than Kroenke paid when he took over the club demonstrates his determination to continue the boardroom battle and influence the running of the Premiership side in the long term.

The Uzbek-born Russian billionaire would be able to access crucial areas of Arsenal’s accounts, including the contracts of their players, if he passes the 30 per cent mark.

Given that he has often been critical to the running of Arsenal in the past, believing they should spend more and even offering to write down debt, access to club accounts would give him vital new ammunition to launch fresh attacks in the future.

This is something that would likely find sympathy with supporters, critical of the thrifty spending of manager Arsène Wenger after their worst start to a season for many years.

Though rules dictate that if Usmanov reaches the 30 per cent threshold he must make an offer for all the club’s shares, an agreement in place with Kroenke negates this obligation.

However, Usmanov would be entitled to a place on the Arsenal board if he were successful with his latest offer, though this is dependent on both him passing the Premier League’s new fit and proper persons test and being offered such a position by the American.

His owning of the team’s shares is backed by the Arsenal supporters, who have expressed their preference for him to remain a part of the club’s ownership structure in order to prevent Kroenke having absolute control of the club.

The Arsenal Supporters Trust still possess a small shareholding in the club and are determined to retain this so that they are represented in the ownership structure.

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