Stan Kroenke has no intention of selling his shares in Arsenal, even in the face of a prospective £1.5bn offer for the club from a consortium in the Middle East. Kroenke, the majority shareholder, has always said his involvement with Arsenal is for the long-haul and, according to sources close to him, the prospect of cashing in to investors from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates is not something he would consider.
It was reported on Sunday that a group from the Middle East, which is as yet unnamed, was preparing to bid the huge sum, which is more than twice what Arsenal were valued at two years ago, to assume 100% control. It would also seek to buy out Alisher Usmanov, the Uzbek billionaire, who is the club's second largest shareholder with 29.96%. Usmanov's philosophies relating to the club's development differ from those of Kroenke – he has been cast in the role of outsider and been denied a seat on the board. But, like Kroenke, he is understood to be resistant to the notion of selling his stake.
The report cast the consortium as the dream solution for Arsenal fans, some of whom have become disgruntled at the club's direction. The group envisages taking over and wiping out the club's debts, granting the manager, Arsène Wenger, a huge transfer kitty, lowering ticket prices and even attempt to lift the atmosphere at home games by introducing a singing section. It has not made any approach to Kroenke or the board.
Kroenke, though, remains engaged in club policy and central to it, attending board meetings and speaking regularly on the phone to Wenger and the chief executive, Ivan Gazidis, and he is not ready to walk away, despite Arsenal's lack of trophies and the prospect of them failing to qualify for the Champions League, which hardened after their 2-1 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur.
The American would stand to make a profit on his investment of close to £400m but he is a hugely wealthy man already, with a fortune of $2.6bn, and he is not driven, primarily, by the quest to amass even more money. He remains convinced that the club's self-sustaining model is the correct way forward, and the strategy will be boosted when the Premier League's new multi-billion pound TV deal kicks in next season, together with the renegotiated shirt sponsorship arrangement with Emirates Airlines, which is worth £150m over five years.
Gazidis is also exploring a more lucrative kit deal to replace the existing one with Nike, which expires at the end of next season, and 2014 has been identified as a significant year in terms of finance at the club, with a raft of additional secondary contracts in prospect.
Kroenke stands by the principles that underpin his involvement at Arsenal and his focus is on building a legacy in the long term. He is one of the biggest players in the sports ownership industry, with an extensive portfolio in the United States. He has majority control over St Louis Rams (NFL), Colorado Avalanche (NHL), Denver Nuggets (NBA) and Colorado Rapids (MLS). He has never sold a share in any of his sporting institutions.
His ambitions at Arsenal are so entrenched that, according to those close to him, he envisages handing over control one day to his son, Josh, who has been running the day-to-day operations at the Nuggets and Avalanche since late last year.
Kroenke made no comment on Sunday, in response to the reports, as he did not want to appear to lend credence to them while Wenger said he had no information on the issue. "You are only vulnerable if you want to sell and you need money," he said. "So it doesn't concern me at all."
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