Opinion – Why would Kroenke turn down over £1 billion profit from Arsenal sale?

If Stan Kroenke’s refuses to sell, his evil cards are officially on the table… by T Moore

By now I’m sure that most Arsenal fans will be salivating at the idea that Daniel Ek’s second improved £2 billion bid will tempt the Kroenke’s into handing over the reins of the club. When you consider that we’re just coming out of a world-wide pandemic and economic crash, receiving £2 billion wouldn’t be such a bad thing for any businessman! But the question is, what kind of businessman is Stan Kroenke?

 

Digging a little deeper into how much profit that would be making the Kroenke’s – it would be approximately more than twice the likely total outlay they coughed up to purchase all the shares, which began back in 2007 when they first purchased a 9.9% stake from ITV Holdings. Whilst an exact total figure is unclear, due to all the shares that were individually purchased over time, a rough total figure was circulated to be in the region of £1.029 billion, after Usmanov had been finally brought out in 2018 as the last remaining shareholder standing in Kroenke’s way of 100% ownership.

 

Any investor will tell you that doubling your money in such a short space of time would be a ‘snake oil’ investment, something too good to be true… but here we are, on the back end of one of the worst global pandemic’s since the Second World War, a global economic crash dubbed worse than the Wall Street Crash of 2007, and Stan Kroenke is about to receive an offer the experts would call ‘too good to be true.’

 

So why would anyone turn that sum of money down, during a time like this?

 

The only answer I can think of is the commercial interests of the club to a businessman like Stan Kroenke, outweigh the financial interest… let alone any football interest (I think it’s obvious that isn’t in the Kroenke equation whatsoever)!

 

For anyone unfamiliar with what happened recently to a fellow London club, Charlton Athletic, let me tell you about their previous owner, Roland Duchatelet. One of the former directors at the South London Club came forward and exposed Duchatelet’s business strategy at the time, explaining that the owner didn’t want the club to get promoted out of League 1 as the running costs of the club would increase as a result. The plan was to keep running costs as minimal as possible and sell players for profit, money which was never re-invested and likely pocketed by the owner. There was also the small matter of charges put against the assets of the club, and loans taken out against the club as well. This of course sent the Charlton fans into a rage, and I’m sure some of you have seen the lengths they went to protest against their owner, including traveling to his home town in Belgium!

 

Now I’m not suggesting that Kroenke doesn’t want Arsenal to succeed in such a vein, but like Duchatelet, success is not the priority for an owner like him. The benefits of owning an internationally recognised ‘brand’ like Arsenal Football Club, are commercial, opening the doors to international markets, sponsorship, advertising, a global network to world-wide commerce. You don’t get those perks owning an NFL team, which is primarily an American audience and thus American market centred business.

 

If you consider Arsenal before the Kroenke-era, this is a club whose finances were so well set-up, they were able to fund their own stadium build. Yes, admittedly there were a few player sales along the way, but there was no massive debt hanging over the club, or billion pound loans to repay like certain neighbours are now experiencing.

 

To go from a financially self-sufficient super-power in English football, to the recent months of having multiple staff furloughed, even the mascot Gunnersaurus sacked, players asked to take a wage cut, and a Government COVID rescue loan taken out against the club, you have to ask what the hell is happening to the finances at Arsenal given the clubs past sustainability?

 

And when you consider the template of other owners such as Duchatelet at Charlton, the answer is obvious, the club is being run at the lowest expense to the ownership, while the owner is milking in a steady revenue stream of profit. If you want a further example of Kroenke’s sporting track record, look no further than the St Louis Rams NFL team who he purchased in 2010.

 

5 years later Kroenke moved the team over 1,800 miles to become the LA Rams, telling the fans that “St Louis was no longer a viable market for the NFL.” The City of St Louis are currently waiting for the Supreme Court to decide whether they are entitled to damages with Stan Kroenke included as one of the defendants.

Sounds much rather like a certain move to a European Super League does it not…

Thomas Moore

 

Tags Arsenal Ek Kroenke profit

51 Comments

  1. If the nett profit is really one billion, I believe Kroenke will sell Arsenal. However, nobody knows about the real numbers, except Kroenke, Ek and perhaps some executives at Arsenal:

    – Nobody knows whether Ek’s offer will give Kroenke one billion nett profit or not

    – Nobody knows how much Kroenke has spent for Arsenal. I think he’s spent more than 700 M for player purchases, loans, salaries, trainings, entertainment, daily operations, stadium maintenance, promotions, etc, in the last fourteen years

    1. GAI,

      The prices of shares that he has bought is freely available knowledge and are legally required to be announced to the stock exchange.

      Kroenke has spent NOTHING of his own money for players or anything elsea as ALL our financing has come from operating profits..

        1. I doubt someone like Kroenke would ever use the clubs/his profits to leverage against debts or costs resulting from COVID after having no fans and TV. And if there’s a readily available government loan scheme going then he was clearly all too keen to jump on board with that option instead. He’s a leech on the club!

        2. GOI, Arsenal borrowing money is not that we are broke, it can be because of various reason like cash flow, money invested somewhere which not accessable etc etc. All that clever finance things that these highly payed accountant or finencial advisors do, which is not a field that a lot of us understand. Also Kronke not selling might be related to some other reasons like if he is used Arsenal as security for something else or if he things he can earn more profit in certain time frame then what he is getting as lum sum etc. No one can say what will happen only kronke can tell you what the real story is, we all sitting here can just make assumptions and hope the best assumption in favour of our club materialize.

          1. The key is the asset value of Arsenal which appears on the Balance Sheet. Kroenke won’t sell for less than £3bn.

          2. Keronke is a wracked wealthy man. If he still owns the team we won’t buy anything of Arsenal again.

        3. GAI, even Kroenke borrows money whilst he has billions of his own. Especially with low or no interest rate, every business borrows rather than use their own.

        4. Because the business actually made some deficits this past year due to the poor running and the pandemic. Now why does he need to borrow? Does it mean he doesn’t have a personal 120m somewhere in any of his account? No but he still has to borrow to make it clear he’s not touching his own money.

    2. GAI learn to do some research before jumping on articles. I suggest Swiss Ramble for a start. Im not gonna engage you on the lies you just posted, it pains me to say that the most outspoken fans both on Twitter and fan forums know so little about our club.

    3. How? With FFP in place for the majority of the period he hasnt put a penny of his own money into the club, everything has been paid for from income.
      If anything he has been taking money out of the club by taking yearly “Consulting” payments in the region of £3 million

    4. What are you saying? Do you not understand the meaning of “self sustaining model”? The club has been running on its revenues. if you add the amount of shares he had and the amount he used to buy over usmanovs shares thats about 1 billion.

  2. I am not a financial expert but I believe that since Kroenke took over 100% of the club he moved the club’s affairs to Delaware and does not have to be completely transparent about his dealings .
    I would not be surprised to learn that his London real estate has been used as collaterall for some of his American dealings and
    If he sells Arsenal he may well be required to repay any loans that he might have taken against the club.
    He has never been in this for football glory only to maximise his portfolio.

  3. Off topic sorry but Xhaka has signed a 5 year contract with Roma. £15 million down payment with add ons.

      1. JON FOX, old buddy, may i join you in raising a glass of bubbles to the fact that xhaka the sloth is , by all accounts, leaving this parish.this could be a real good summer yet. we are slowly getting there with the former managers dross.

    1. That is not a good deal, £15 million for a regular EPL and international player who is in his prime now is way to less. I hope it is not fine. Xhaka is not required at Arsenal but that does not mean throwing away the money and selling him in cheap.

      1. Yes, I agree, very very low price. Market after covid effect, impatience effect, probably fear height get injured in the Euros and stay…etc.

      2. Not the best price but he wants out and only has 2 years on his contract..

        We are not a club to force players to stay and you cant blame Xhaka for wanting out after the regular torrents of abuse he receives due to his latest glaring error.

  4. Two separate thoughts pertain: Firstly, well done Thomas for highlighting the damage that this snakes ownership has done, is doing and will continue to do, UNLESS we can force him out.
    Secondly, multi billionaires do not concern themselves with taking a profit from what they paid in the past, IF they see continued and MORE profit from keeping their stolen asset into the future than selling up now.
    I should add a thid thought, obvious though it clearly is; that almost 100% of Gooners surely crave that Ek’s reported second bid is accepted.
    I think he will need to go a good deal higher still to even tempt SNAKE AND SON OF SNAKE INTO ACCCEPTING THOUGH.

  5. If he wanted to sell and able to get at least 2 billions during a pandemic how much more could he get in few years time?

    1. Market isn’t that liquid tho’ not many billionaires around – even Daniel Ek is struggling…

  6. I know it is no use crying over spilt milk, but I REALLY don’t understand why a lot of fans wanted Kroenke to take over, over Usmanov – the writing was always on the wall what he would do

    1. Don’t you remember the job done by the British press on Usmanov?they presented him as the bad guy the dodgy Russian..short of calling him a criminal Vs Kroenke the American married to wealth “good” family…..!

      1. With Walmart based on driving out small business competition and paying their employees as little as possible.

        1. What ever it is the Club is going downhill fast since Keronke since bought it I hope They take the offer and leave

  7. its Arsena’ls fault for letting Krunky in in the first place, now its hard to get the demon out.

    1. Akin, it’s the fault of the major shareholders in Arsenal, who were charged with stewardship of the Club and sold their souls for a lot more than 30 pieces of silver.

  8. If Eke coughs up £2.5 billion the krankies will bite.That,I believe is their valuation.Forbes( American) val Arsenal at 2.3 billion.I’ve no doubt he’s using Arsenal as collateral on The Inglewood stadium in LA.Hence the hesitancy to sell.Still.A hefty £1.5 billion clear profit might be enough to focus the mind.Money talks.

  9. Can we help this process? Keep protesting and let it be known that we will no longer buy merchandise or put money into the team until Kronke sells! Tell all the Arsenal supporters you know.. Let’s come together. At the end of the day he’s a business man and if the business ain’t working you’ll eventually cut your loses or cash in.
    Can someone tell me if any owner of a club was/is a fan that went on to own it?

    1. But the London supporters didn’t come out to the second demonstration in large numbers, because of a little rain. One wonders how they ever built the Empire on which the sun never sets?
      Driving Kroenke out will be a long road and every opportunity must be taken to get in their faces, when they are at the Emirates. Josh didn’t see a thing on his recent visit.

  10. I know nothing about Daniel Ek except that creating Spotify has made him a multi- billionaire in a few short years. That type of business is built on straw with no foundations, what happens to our club, (if he buys it) if his internet based empire crashes?

    1. Andrew,I am with you on this one. Ek’s net worth is 4+ billion. If he were to offer the the value of the club (2.4 billion) he would have to borrow money and in all probability form a consortium. It is unlikely that Kroenke will sell at that price as Arsenal Holding is his foothold in the UK. Ek would, I think struggle, to pay much more and at the same time invest vast sums of money in the club. After all Ek is first and foremost a businessman. Much as I would prefer a new owner I am at the moment more for the devil I know than the one I don’t.

  11. I should have added that like most of you I want the Kroenkes out asap but we do need stable new owners not just a lifelong fan who happened to get rich quickly. Someone like Dangote would probably be a better option even if we need to wait a bit longer.

  12. it may be because he thinks he can make more.

    For me the more likely answer is that he doesn’t need the billion extra (hard to believe I actually could type that) and he doesn’t want to be seen to bow to pressure.

    He gets to do whatever he wants with 100% ownership.

  13. Maybe he’s just a stubborn man who won’t be told what to do and really and truly is so loaded he doesn’t need the money.
    Josh does his job so there is no stress for him and as long as the club remains financially strong then why sell?

  14. I have never understood why Kroenke buy Arsenal, or what his true intention as owner is. But if any of this is true fans have to try and get him out. I know people are worried about Dan Ek but I’d rather have a passionate owner who loves the club on board and have less money than what we have now. Look at Leicester, they’re not throwing Abramovic money around but they run the club well and want to succeed. I’m sure Ek could do that with his resources, bringing the right people in to help like he wants to with Bergkamp, Vieira, Henry etc. You just need the right strategy and the want to succeed, which we don’t have now.

  15. As has been said above, fans just have to calm down for the foreseeable future. Right now, I cannot see Mr Kroenki selling in the next 10years.
    He is not in need of cash to fund a new investment, so why would you accept cash which will suffer inflation and loss purchasing power,and Arsenal appreciating.
    The anticipated growth of Arsenal has not even really started, because the full business agenda hinged on Stadium project is yet to be tapped. That Arsenal brand is also not in decline. The current low at Arsenal is just administrative ineptitude resulting from appointments of group of grossly and gravely inexperienced managers, and/ or visionless Yesmen, purposely to keep the club at the unenviable level of the understanding of the Kroenkis.

  16. We were in champions league final an year before kroenke entered and we are now without Europe and they have the balls to say to us fans “Be Excited”.
    The team I fell in love with is a distant memory now…
    No hopes for the summer at all.. Anything they do is just for the sake of damage control

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