The Arsenal Rockies!

GuanYin

A bit of cool news for me!

Stan Kroenke's KSE UK Inc. have bought a 9.99% stake in Arsenal Holdings PLC from ITV.

Stan Kroenke is a US billionaire ranked 153 on the Forbes list, above the Glazers and Randy Lerner. He currently owns the Denver Nuggets (NBA) and Colorado Avalanche (NHL) with interests in the St. Louis Rams and MLS interests through the Colorado Rapids.

Arsenal started a partnership with the CO Rapids earlier this year and they've promised a centre of excellence as well as cup sponsored competitions over here.

Kroenke's people say he has no interest in buying the club outright and Arsenal's major shareholders, particularly Dein, are unlikely to sell.

Still, good for the MLS and Colorado soccer. I wonder will Arsenal be touring over here.

Link from BBC

leninbenjamin

didn't this guy say publicly a few weeks back that he has no interest in buying them outright, just sees them as a good investment? it's interesting alright...

it's a strange oul time though that we now have Americans investing heavily in soccer... can it be really good for the sport though?

Pepe LeFrits

leninbenjamin wrote:

didn't this guy say publicly a few weeks back that he has no interest in buying them outright, just sees them as a good investment? it's interesting alright...

it's a strange oul time though that we now have Americans investing heavily in soccer... can it be really good for the sport though?

No, someone 'on his behalf' denied any interest, which Kroenke then denied as legally you cannot buy shares in a company for 6 months after denying an interest. T'was pretty obvious who ITV's shares were going to.

jank

I would prefer if the club ownership stayed as it was tbh

Pepe LeFrits

All should read this:

http://www.arsenalnewsreview.co.uk/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=574&cntnt01origid=30&cntnt01returnid=42

The football 'superbowl' is coming, unfortunately.

Raskolnikov

Arsenal can be the Manchester United of the 21st century

Watford could become the new Manchester United if they had enough money behind them.

I wonder why foreign money is only being pumped into the Premier League. Is Spanish and Italian football not seen as a good investment? What sort of tv money do their leagues command?

Mossy Monk

Raskolnikov wrote:

What sort of tv money do their leagues command?

In Spain Real Madrid secured a tv deal worth €800 million over 7 years while Barcelona have a five year deal starting in 2008 worth £81.4 million per year. This of course is because the clubs are allowed to negotiate their own tv deals unlike in England.

cson

I have to say I'd prefer the club to stay with its present owners. Premiership clubs are starting to become playthings for billionaires,

Man United - Glazers
Chelsea - Ambramovich
Liverpool - George Gillet & Tom Hicks
Aston Villa - Randy Lerner
Portsmouth - Alexandre Gaydamak

I'm sure there will be more added to that list in the future.

Galvasean

As much as it would help out the club in the short term I would hate it if Arsenal were bought out by a sugar daddy. Look at Chelsea, if Abramovich pulls out they will be as good as bankrupt. It just isn't a sound long term plan.

Pepe LeFrits

None of the Americans are sugar daddies.

New ownership might not be a bad thing really. Besides increased funds being made available for the manager, it might mean an improvement in relations with the fans, which are pretty much non existant at the moment. The current owners are well known for not giving a sh1t about us.

Fanny Cradock

cson wrote:

I have to say I'd prefer the club to stay with its present owners. Premiership clubs are starting to become playthings for billionaires,

Man United - Glazers
Chelsea - Ambramovich
Liverpool - George Gillet & Tom Hicks
Aston Villa - Randy Lerner
Portsmouth - Alexandre Gaydamak

I'm sure there will be more added to that list in the future.

Surely they have always been the playthings of the multi millionaire/billionaires

leninbenjamin

Fanny Cradock wrote:

Surely they have always been the playthings of the multi millionaire/billionaires

if anything it's a case of them no longer being a plaything, but rather a way to make a quick buck. investment could be good for the clubs, but if things go awry a lot of these guys may have no hesitation cashing in and selling the assets of the club rather than working through it. as far as i can tell everyone bar Ambramovich really is in it to make money (and we're seeing signs that even Ambramovich is fed up throwing money at Chelsea and wants them to make a return)

Zaph

Owning a club has always been a hobby for millionaires, but now to compete you need to be a billionare, and one of the reasons for the sudden influx of foreign owners is that the British super rich aren't prepared to put their hands in their pockets to support their so-called "national game". I think it was Jack Walker (former Blackburn owner) who said that the quickest way to turn £100 million into £10 million was to buy a football team.

I'd be delighted if some American billionaire, or a billionaire of any nationality for that matter, bought Leeds and baled us out of the crap.

event

cson wrote:

I have to say I'd prefer the club to stay with its present owners. Premiership clubs are starting to become playthings for billionaires,

Man United - Glazers
Chelsea - Ambramovich
Liverpool - George Gillet & Tom Hicks
Aston Villa - Randy Lerner
Portsmouth - Alexandre Gaydamak

I'm sure there will be more added to that list in the future.

whats changed though?

wigan, fulham, reading, boro, west ham, they are all owned by private billionaires/millionaires, and except for WH, have been for quite some time