Stan Kroenke Ending Fan Ownership & Is Using A Loan To Buy Arsenal – Report
By The Editor
on 7th August 2018
Stan Kroenke clearly has no intention of endearing himself to Arsenal fans as he completes takeover…
Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke has made moves to take complete control of the club by buying out Alisher Usmanov and in a further move set to anger fans, he’ll trigger the compulsory sale of all other shares held by many fans, BBC’s David Ornstein reports.
"He's forcing fans to sell their shares, ending supporter ownership. It will neuter their voice and their involvement."@bbcsport_david on the impact of Stan Kroenke's bid to take full control of #Arsenal https://t.co/V9XLWUuWBT pic.twitter.com/7AOZxa5fs7
— BBC 5 Live Sport (@5liveSport) August 7, 2018
Under Premier League rules, an individual can move to buy all remaining shares once they reach the 97% threshold and take the club into private ownership.
Kroenke didn’t have to do it, but forcing that move ends fan ownership and accountability, meaning that there will be no more Annual General Meetings and that the silent American can do as he pleases.
Also, David Ornstein reports that the LA Rams owner has taken out a loan of over £550m to complete this takeover and while he’s adamant it won’t affect our finances, he’s using the club as leverage to pay back that loan.
With days to go before the Premier League kicks off and excitement building as a new era dawns under Unai Emery, this news has certainly dampened the spirits.
It’s rather depressing to know that if we’re to get back to challenging for the Premier League, it will be fully due to the work of our head coach working within the constraints of our ‘own resources’ and no help of a billionaire owner.