American billionaire Stan Kroenke has struck a deal to take English Premier League football club Arsenal private by buying out Russian rival and minority investor Alisher Usmanov in a move that values the club at around $2.3 billion.
The deal comes at a crucial time for the north London outfit as it embarks on life without long-time manager Arsene Wenger who stood down in April after 22 years in charge.
It also brings an end to the stand-off between the two tycoons, who had both battled for control, and enables Mr Kroenke to squeeze out the independent shareholders who had used the annual meeting to lambast the board for not spending more on a team that last won the Premier League in 2004.
The Arsenal Supporters' Trust and one independent shareholder condemned the move, saying it would allow Mr Kroenke to run the business with no oversight and to add debt to the balance sheet.
The bid will be part funded by a £557 million (Dh2.65bn) loan from Deutsche Bank.
Mr Kroenke, a 67 per cent shareholder in Arsenal who also owns the US Denver Nuggets basketball team and the Los Angeles Rams American Football team, said in a statement to the London stock exchange that a single owner would be able to pursue its strategy more quickly.
"We appreciate Mr Usmanov's dedication to the Arsenal Football Club and the storied ethos and history the club represents," he said.
Initially viewed with suspicion by the board, Mr Kroenke started building up his position from 2007 as he slowly bought out the families who had run the 132-year-old club for generations.
He said on Tuesday he had now received an irrevocable undertaking from Mr Usmanov to sell his 30 per cent stake and would buy out the remaining independent shareholders at £29,000 per share.
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Mr Usmanov, who is ranked by Forbes as Russia's 10th richest man with a fortune of $12.5bn, owns stakes in some of Russia's biggest companies including phone operator Megafon, iron ore producer Metalloinvest and Internet group Mail.ru, among other investments.
Mr Kroenke is competing against the wealthy owners of other Premier League clubs such as Chelsea's Roman Abramovich, Manchester United's Glazer family and Abu Dhabi-owned Manchester City, last season's runaway winners.
Arsenal fans have long complained that the club has not ploughed enough money into the team and even let some of the best players leave to join rivals, including Robin van Persie and Alexis Sanchez who both joined Manchester United.
Arsenal finished the 2017/18 season in sixth place behind the two Manchester clubs, fierce local rivals Tottenham Hostpur, Liverpool and Chelsea. That marked the second season running it had missed out on the lucrative European Champions League.
David Kershaw, an independent shareholder, fan and chief executive of advertising group M&C Saatchi, told Reuters he was concerned that the deal would not lead to a better performance on the pitch.
"I think it's very sad that we're in danger of losing any transparency into how our club is run," he said.
His comments were echoed by the Arsenal Supporters' Trust, an independent group representing fans who fear their influence will be diminished.
"Many of these fans ... hold their shares not for value but as custodians who care for the future of the club. Mr Kroenke's actions will neuter their voice and involvement," the Trust said.
While many Americans run clubs, or franchises, like a business, the richer owners of Chelsea and Manchester City have thrown hundreds of millions of pounds at their clubs to buy the world's best players.
Founded by a group of workers at the Royal Arsenal armaments factory in Woolwich, the Arsenal team were League champions on 13 occasions, including three under Wenger, and FA Cup winners a record 13 times.
New manager Unai Emery, who joined from Paris St Germain, will be given a baptism of fire this weekend when Arsenal kick off their new season against Manchester City.
Dhadak
Director: Shashank Khaitan
Starring: Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khattar, Ashutosh Rana
Stars: 3
Results
5pm: Al Maha Stables – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m; Winner: Reem Baynounah, Fernando Jara (jockey), Mohamed Daggash (trainer)
5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: AF Afham, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
6pm: Emirates Fillies Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Ghallieah, Sebastien Martino, Jean-Claude Pecout
6.30pm: Emirates Colts Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Yas Xmnsor, Saif Al Balushi, Khalifa Al Neyadi
7pm: The President’s Cup – Group 1 (PA) Dh2,500,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Somoud, Adrie de Vries, Jean de Roualle
7.30pm: The President’s Cup – Listed (TB) Dh380,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: Haqeeqy, Dane O’Neill, John Hyde.
The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
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- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
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Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Brief scoreline:
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Al Nassr 3
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The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
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Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
ENGLAND SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Jack Butland, Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope
Defenders: John Stones, Harry Maguire, Phil Jones, Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier, Gary Cahill, Ashley Young, Danny Rose, Trent Alexander-Arnold
Midfielders: Eric Dier, Jordan Henderson, Dele Alli, Jesse Lingard, Raheem Sterling, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Fabian Delph
Forwards: Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy, Marcus Rashford, Danny Welbeck
