London – A fourth U.S. takeover of an English soccer team may be more likely following vice chairman David Dein’s exit from Arsenal earlier this week – just two weeks after Denver sports mogul Stan Kroenke raised his stake in the London club.
Dein, a leading figure in English football, left because of “irreconcilable differences” with the board and ceased to be a director with immediate effect, Arsenal said in a statement.
Speculation that Arsenal may follow Manchester United and Liverpool in attracting U.S. buyers has increased since Kroenke, the owner of Major League Soccer’s Colorado Rapids, raised his stake to 11 percent two weeks ago. Buying Dein’s 14.5 percent would make him the largest shareholder and move him closer to the 29.9 percent mark that triggers a mandatory bid.
Kroenke also owns the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche. Dan Rowland, a spokesman for Kroenke Sports Enterprises, declined to comment on Kroenke’s interest in the team.
“Everything is in the air,” football analyst Tom Cannon of Buckingham Business School told Sky Sports. There was the “risk of a power struggle” at the team, he said.
The remaining board members, who own 45.45 percent, agreed not to sell their shares for at least one year in a move to signal they remain “long-term holders,” chairman Peter Hill- Wood said in a statement Wednesday.
London’s most successful team has a market value of $841 million. The shares have risen 34 percent since Kroenke’s Rapids signed a marketing agreement with Arsenal on Feb. 8.
Denver Post staff writer Kelly Yamanouchi contributed to this report.
