LONDON—Arsenal’s board met with American billionaire Stan Kroenke for the first time after Alisher Usmanov increased his stake in the Premier League club.
Kroenke bought 12 percent of the club in April and initially faced hostility from board members who feared a foreign takeover. Kroenke, who owns the NBA’s Denver Nuggets, the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche and the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer, visited Arsenal on Wednesday.
“A positive meeting was held,” Arsenal said Thursday.
Kroenke, a real estate developer who is also a co-owner of the NFL’s St. Louis Rams, was expected to make a bid for the club when he invested in the north London club, but the size of his stake has been dwarfed by that acquired recently by Usmanov.
Chairman Peter Hill-Wood and other directors have said they want the club to avoid following Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea in falling into foreign ownership, suggesting their meeting with Kroenke may have been an effort to dissuade him from selling his shares to Usmanov.
The Uzbek-born Russian businessman is the Gunners’ second largest shareholder with 23 percent and appears to be moving toward the 30 percent mark that would trigger a mandatory takeover offer.
“The meeting falls in line with the club’s intention to maintain an open dialogue with large shareholders of Arsenal Football Club,” Arsenal said.
