Kroenke vows not to load Arsenal with debt
New majority owner also wants to retain officials and continue with the existing business model
London: Stan Kroenke, the new majority owner of Arsenal, has promised that he will not place any debt or liability on the club to finance his proposed takeover.
In a clear distancing from the unpopular ownership model of the Glazer family at Manchester United, Kroenke has given written confirmation to the Arsenal board that "the offer will not be funded by way of any debt finance" that would depend on Arsenal.
Kroenke also made it clear that he wants to retain the board of directors, including chief executive Ivan Gazidis and chairman Peter Hill-Wood, in their current positions.
Wonderful Wenger
Significantly, he made a point of describing Arsene Wenger as a "wonderful" manager and said that he wanted to continue with Arsenal's present self-sustaining business model. That means Wenger will not suddenly have an enhanced transfer budget, although one of Kroenke's main priorities will be to grow the club's off-field commercial revenues. In particular, there will be an emphasis on improving sponsorship deals and developing overseas opportunities, particularly in the Far East and the United States. Kroenke has already secured agreement to buy the shares of Lady Bracewell-Smith and Danny Fiszman, taking his total stake to 62.89 per cent.
He must now wait to see if other prominent shareholders, including Alisher Usmanov, decide to sell their stakes.
If they do, the entire investment would cost Kroenke almost £500 million (Dh3 billion). The American, though, has said that he does not currently expect to reach the 90 per cent point at which he could force minority shareholders to sell.
