Multi-billionaire industrialist, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, is considering buying 16 per cent stake in English Premier League club, Arsenal.
The stake is said to be worth £96 million (about N25 billion) as the battle for the takeover of the elite football club appears set for a grand finale.
Dangote confirmed to THISDAY last night that he was “seriously considering” investing in the club. He has already registered his interest with Blackstone, the American finance house contracted by Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith, Arsenal’s fourth-largest shareholder who wants to sell her stake worth about £96 million.She expects the sale will fetch her around £160 million.
Dangote told THISDAY that his interest had been in the making “for a while”, while his relationship and support for Arsenal dates back “a long time”. “It started in 1980 when I forged a relationship with Mr David Dein, former vice-chairman of the board of Arsenal,” he said, explaining that Dein sold him his first consignment of sugar at the time.
Dangote began watching Arsenal’s matches as Dein’s guest and remained a firm supporter of the club.
“That is when I developed an interest in Arsenal, and when the opportunity presented itself to acquire a stake in the club, I went for it,” he said.
If Dangote’s bid is successful, he could become a major factor in the cold takeover war between American billionaire, Stan Kroenke, and Uzbek oligarch, Alisher Usmanov – the two biggest investors in the company.
Kroenke currently owns 29.9 per cent of the club while Usmanov owns 26 per cent. Under UK rules, any investor who hits the 29.99 per cent threshold will be obliged to launch a formal takeover bid and buy out the other shareholders
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