With the beginning of the season seeming to be the perfect time for Stan Kroenke to quietly complete his full takeover at Arsenal, with all the headlines full of the transfers and opening game discussions, it seems the Arsenal Supporters Trust are aiming to take legal advice and try to delay the takeover so that Kroenke will have one final AGM where he can feel the ire of the Arsenal fans who are set to lose their shares to the American by cumpulsoty purchase.
The Standard reports…
The Arsenal Supporters’ Trust are set to reject Stan Kroenke’s offer to buy out their members’ shares in the club and are seeking legal advice to challenge the compulsory purchase aspect of his takeover.
Kroenke Sports Enterprises (KSE) last week announced to the London Stock Exchange they had bought Alisher Usmanov’s 30 per cent stake in the club for £550million, triggering a formal offer for the remaining shares in the club, worth £29,419 each.
The American businessman now owns 97.14 per cent of the club, with the rest owned by around 400-500 private shareholders, who are all considering whether to sell quickly or put on a show of defiance. The existing purchase offer expires on August 28.
Takeover law dictates that Kroenke will complete his sale regardless, so any move to reject his initial offer or mount a legal challenge will, in effect, only be a symbolic gesture. However, the AST believe it is possible they could instigate a sufficient delay to put pressure on Kroenke to hold one final Annual General Meeting later in the year.
An AST spokesman said: “The AST are minded not to accept the offer and are seeking legal advice on the merits of the compulsory purchase intention.
“While this may be a futile last stand around custodianship, transparency and supporter involvement in ownership, the AST and many of its shareholding members are not going away without a fight.”
Kroenke will be desperate to get Arsenal registered as a private company as quickly as possible, so it is a bit like Cuser’s Las Stand, especially when up against the best lawyers a billionaire can buy. But Oh, wouldn’t be good to get him under the spotlight just one more time…..
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