Usmanov may look to increase share in Arsenal
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Alisher Usmanov may look to increase share in Arsenal
Alisher Usmanov is reportedly planning to persuade Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith to sell her 15 per cent stakeholding in Arsenal to enhance his hopes of a formal takeover.
The Russian oligarch paid £75 million to acquire a 14.6 per cent stake from former Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein in August last year, and is currently the biggest shareholder in the club with 24.9 per cent.
Usmanov would need to surpass his current holding to 30 per cent if he wanted to launch a formal takeover bid and reports in this morning's papers suggest he plans to convince avid Arsenal supporter Lady Bracewell-Smith that selling to him would make the club competitive in the transfer market and allay any financial concerns.
Dein, still at odds with the Arsenal board of directors following his departure from the club 15 months ago, cited for "irreconcilable differences" after attempting to engineer a different foreign takeover last April, is the figurehead of Mr Usmanov's group of investors, Red & White Holdings.
It is thought the investment company could mount a takeover bid in the coming months but the idea has been greeted with intense hostility from the club's remaining share holders who would be reluctant to give up their control in the club.
Usmanov, who made his estimated £4 billion fortune largely from mining, would be able to provide manager Arsene Wenger with a substantial amount of money to secure high-profile signings.
The club's current policy cap on wages has proved particularly detrimental this summer in retaining the services of key players such as Matthieu Flamini and Alexander Hleb, who left to AC Milan and Barcelona respectively, while Emmanuel Adebayor stalls on a renewed contract offer and greater involvement from Usmanov would allow the strict controls of wage inflation at the club to be relaxed.
Any prospective takeover would be sure to earn support from many Arsenal fans who, despite initial concern and resistance, believe the Russian' billionaire's considerable wealth would help consolidate the club and give Wenger valuable transfer funds to compete with the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea.
A month ago at the European Championships in Austria, Dein warned the club's board that they are in danger of slipping out of the Champions League places unless they sell to Red & White, fearing failure to qualify for Europe's elite club competition would threaten dire financial consequences.
Dein said: "It is a worry. I can see more investors coming in to football. I can see Liverpool being sold, Spurs being sold. "We want to help Arsenal. He [Usmanov] would change the whole dynamic of the club. At Arsenal, something has to break."
Former Arsenal captain Frank McLintock, who led the north London club to their famous League and FA Cup double in 1971, echoed Dein's sentiments insisting Wenger must be given plenty of cash if the club are to end their three-year trophy drought.
"There is a danger that the supporters could get impatient and frustrated," he told the Sunday Mirror. "I can't see Arsenal winning trophies until they change their approach to transfers. It's difficult for supporters to come to terms with paying out so much and yet seeing so little spent in the transfer market."
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who the fark is he?
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Well... for a start, he is a billionaire...
Sounds good already doesn't it...
