English Premier League soccer club Arsenal said on Monday it did
not need a billionaire backer and had had no contact with Alisher
Usmanov, the wealthy Russian businessman who has built up a 21
percent stake in the club and wants more.
"We will meet any major shareholder that seeks a meeting. We
have not met Usmanov and Usmanov has not requested a meeting,"
Arsenal Managing Director Keith Edelman told reporters as the north
London club reported a 65 percent drop in annual profit, due mainly
to the costs of refinancing its debts.
Following the foreign takeovers of Manchester United, Chelsea
and Liverpool, Arsenal is the latest club at the centre of power
wrangling with an overseas tycoon.
Former vice chairman David Dein is spearheading Red and White
Holdings, the investment vehicle bankrolled by Usmanov and
London-based Farhad Moshiri.
Edelman told reporters the club was not concerned if Usmanov
waged a hostile takeover war.
"We don't feel particularly threatened. We believe more than 51
percent of shareholders will support the current board."
Arsenal's board itself controls over 45 percent of its shares
and has vowed not to sell its stake until April at the
earliest.
Edelman added that, while no meetings were planned, he expected
to have further talks with Stan Kroenke, the American sports tycoon
who owns a 12 percent stake in the club.
Investor concern
A boardroom bust up forced Dein out of the club in April after
he and the rest of the board disagreed that the club needed a
billionaire investor to keep up with the likes of Manchester United
and Chelsea.
Edelman said the club did not need a wealthy investor.
"Fundamentally we don't agree with that approach."
"Arsene (Wenger) didn't spend all the money available to him
over the summer so the argument that we need more money to be at
the top of the table I find perplexing."
Despite predictions of doom and gloom before the start of the
season following the surprise departure of record goal scorer
Henry, Arsenal's young side has had a blistering start to the
season.
Unbeaten after six games, and having scored more goals than any
other team, Arsenal top England's Premier League.
Edelman said it was up to manager Arsene Wenger whether the club
recruited a new director of football to replace Dein.
"There are no current plans to appoint a director of football
we've managed to sign all the players we targeted and resign all
the players we wanted to.
"If Arsene wants to add additional personnel we support that
decision."
Arsenal saw revenues shoot up 45 percent in the year ended May,
largely thanks to the 3.5 million pounds ($7 million) a match it
now makes from its new Emirates stadium.
However pretax profit dropped to 5.6 million pounds from 15.9
million the year before after swallowing a 21 million pounds
one-off charge to refinance the 260 million pounds it borrowed to
build the 60,000 seater ground.
Paying the interest on the stadium loans costs Arsenal around 20
million pounds a year
Following is a summary of Arsenal's main shareholders:
Arsenal shareholder Holding (percent)
Danny Fiszman 24.11
Red and White 21.0
Nina Bracewell-Smith 15.9
Stanley Kroenke 12.19
Richard Carr 4.3
Arsenal supporters trust 3.0
Peter Hill-Wood 0.8
Other board members 0.2
(China Daily via Agencies September 26, 2007)