Arsenal owners extend pact for another year

David Dein's dreams of controlling English Arsenal have suffered another blow since Danny Fiszman, Lady Bracewell-Smith, Richard Carr and chairman Peter Hill-Wood decided to extend their agreement of not selling their shares in the club.

Instead of April 2008, Uzbek billionaire Alisher Usmanov would not be able to get 45 percent of Arsenal until April 2009.

"It's simple, in principle I'm not a seller," said Fiszman, who is the largest shareholder with 24 percent.

"There is a new agreement being written that will extend the agreement. No hostile takeover bid will be successful.

"We're in a very strong financial situation and if our manager Arsene Wenger wanted to spend GBP 100 million on players, he could."

American businessman Stan Kroenke, who owns 12 percent of Arsenal, may attend the club's annual meeting on October 18 to show his backing of the club, according to the Daily Telegraph.

Kroenke will be in London for a sports business conference and plans to attend the NFL match between the New York Giants and the Miami Dolphins at Wembley Stadium on October 28. To avoid a takeover by Usmanov, the club is trying to form an improved rapport with Kroenke and let it be known that he would be welcome at the meeting.

His plans also included meeting with Danny Fiszman and other officials while there and is now thought he will also meet with the members of the Arsenal Supporters' Trust.

Keith Edelman, Arsenal's managing director, feels that Kroenke is showing he will bide his time as a long term investor, rather than initiating a takeover.

Originally Hill-Wood rejected Kroenke when Kroenke bought 9.9 percent of ITV with David Dein's assistance. But a partnership between Arsenal and Kroenke's MLS Colorado Rapids still formed and Dein was fired from the club due to "irreconcilable differences."

Kroenke has kept himself detached from Dein, who in turn sold his shares to Usmanov.

Arsenal's release of its financial records that showed the move to Emirates Stadium increased turnover to GBP 200 million last season, encouraged the board not to sell the club to an outsider and are rejecting Dein's statement that the club needs to have an affluent patron.

"I will not get involved with him again. I will avoid it if I can help it," said Hill-Wood in reference to Dein and also stated that Kroenke was drawn in with Dein "on a misunderstanding."

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