Formula One chief Ecclestone eyes Arsenal

British billionaire Bernie Ecclestone, the legendary Formula One chief, has expressed serious interest in buying English Arsenal.

Ecclestone, whose personal fortune is valued at GBP 2.2 billion, is a close friend of former vice-chairman David Dein, who walked out of the club last season after a row over a possible takeover. Ecclestone’s daughter, Tamara, is also dating Dein’s son – Gavin.

Inevitably, chats between the two turned to football and Arsenal. "It was David who mentioned it," Ecclestone admitted in an interview with The Times on Saturday.

Arsenal directors however are unwilling to let the club to become the latest Premier League club in a take over, and have resisted attempts by Stan Kroenke, who spent GBP 65 million for 12.2 percent stake in the club, to increase his shareholding.

Dein's support for Kroenke's plans was one of the reasons he left the club last April. Dein still owns a 14.6 percent stake in the club.

Just after Dein’s resignation, four of the club’s directors who own together 45 percent, Chairman Peter Hill-Wood (less than 1 percent), Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith (15.9 percent), Richard Carr (4.4 per cent), and Danny Fiszman (24.1 percent), signed an agreement for a 12-month “cooling-off” period and have confirmed that they intend to retain their interests on the expiration of this period.

While Hill-Wood and Carr are likely to keep hold of shares that have been in their families for generations, Danny Fiszman, the club’s largest shareholder, already mentioned to friends the possibility of a sale that would realise about GBP 100 million. Bracewell-Smith, the hotel heiress, may also find the lure of such cash difficult to resist.

When the 12 months lookout is over next year in April, Stan Kroenke is planning to resume his attack for a complete take over of the GBP 432 million valued club. Ecclestone, who knows a good deal when he sees one, is now also “very interested”.

"The directors at Arsenal don't want to sell and have signed a lockout agreement for a year, so we will have to wait and see what happens then," he was quoted as saying to The Times.

"A lot can change in that time. I am still very interested. If I could buy Arsenal I would, but I would want control."

Over a period of thirty years, Ecclestone - the ultimate dealmaker, has transformed the Formula One into one of the world’s richest sports. Financially, Ecclestone is a self-made billionaire who also operates in a rarefied world of billionaires, so the money needed to buy Arsenal would be within easy reach. His only problem would be to convince the Arsenal board that he is the right man for the job.

Source: euFootball.BIZ © Copyright 2006 - All rights reserved.