American billionaire and Arsenal’s majority owner Stan Kroenke has made an offer to buy the rest of the London-based football club for around £1.8bn after Russian rival and minority holder Alisher Usmanov agreed to sell.
Kroenke, whose Kroenke Sports and Entertainment company already owns 67 per cent of the club, said in a statement to the London stock exchange that he wanted to take Arsenal private to be better able to pursue its strategy.
“We at KSE are moving forward with this offer leading to 100 per cent ownership of the club,” Kroenke said in a statement, adding: “We appreciate Mr Usmanov’s dedication to the Arsenal Football Club and the storied ethos and history the club represents.”
Kroenke said he had received an irrevocable undertaking from Usmanov to sell his 30 per cent stake and would buy out the remaining independent shareholders.
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