Dangote's dream of purchasing Arsenal does up in smoke as Kroenke gets set to take full ownership

ALIKO Dangote's dream of purchasing English Premier League giants Arsenal appears to have ended yesterday after the club's majority shareholder Stan Kroenke announced an offer to take full ownership of the club in a deal worth £1.8bn ($2.3bn).

Africa's richest man, Alhaji Dangote, 61, is valued at $13bn and is a big Gunners fan, who has repeated tried to purchase a majority stake in the English Premiership side. He had planned to make an offer to Arsenal's majority shareholder Stan Kroenke for his stake in the club once the construction of a new oil refinery in Lagos, Nigeria, was completed.

However, yesterday, Kroenke, the American sports mogul, who currently owns 67% of the club through his company Kroenke Sports and Entertainment (KSE), reached a deal with Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov for the sale of his 30% stake in Arsenal.  Details of the planned purchase have been forwarded to the London Stock Exchange (LSE) who have confirmed that the deal is going ahead.

An LSE spokesman said: “KSE believes moving to private ownership will bring the benefits of a single owner better able to move quickly in furtherance of the club’s strategy and ambitions. KSE is a committed, long-term owner of the club.”

However, the Arsenal Supporters’ Trust (AST) said it was a dreadful day for the club, adding that Arsenal was too important to be owned by one person. Mr Kroenke, the owner of the Los Angeles Rams in the National Football League, has been a part-owner of Arsenal since 2007, gradually increasing his stake in the club.

An AST spokesman said: “Stan Kroenke taking the club private will see the end of supporters owning shares in Arsenal and their role upholding custodianship values. The AST is also extremely concerned to note that this purchase is being funded by a loan.

“The most dreadful part of this announcement is the news that Mr Kroenke plans to forcibly purchase the shares held by Arsenal fans. Many of these fans are AST members and hold their shares not for value but as custodians who care for the future of the club.”

Now selling his stake, Uzbekistan-born Mr Usmanov, who made his fortune in the steel industry, has made previous unsuccessful bids to take control of the club. He was critical of Mr Kroenke’s passive ownership style, a sentiment increasingly echoed by Arsenal fans, unhappy with what they see as the board’s willingness to settle for on-field mediocrity so long as commercial stability was maintained.

Under LSE takeover rules, if Mr Usmanov accepts the offer, it would trigger the sale of the remaining minority shareholders’ shares. Many of the Arsenal shareholders have preserved a small holding for decades but if these are now sold, it will place the club under the private control of Mr Kroenke, who will become the sole owned.

Mr Kroenke said: “We at KSE are moving forward with this offer leading to 100% ownership of the club. We appreciate Mr Usmanov’s dedication to the Arsenal Football Club and the storied ethos and history the club represents.”

Arsenal, who finished sixth in the English Premier league last season, launch their 2018/19 campaign at home to champions Manchester City on Sunday under new manager Unai Emery. In his first season at the club, the former Paris Saint-Germain manager replaced long-serving boss Arsene Wenger in May.

A lifelong Arsenal fan, Alhaji Dangote, who counts former Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein as a good friend, has revealed in September 2016 that he has a four-year time frame to complete the takeover of the club. At the time, he said he had more challenging headwinds and once he gets those out the way he will focus on Arsenal.