Gazidis on takeover prospect

Chief Executive Officer Ivan Gazidis has admitted that he's not sure whether the possibility of a takeover of Arsenal Holdings plc is real or not.

The South African has however strengthened his senior management team with an in-house legal counsel in Svenja Geissmar, who has experience with the Takeover Code.

US tycoon Stan Kroenke currently has a 29.9 per cent share of the club, and needs 29.99 per cent to be obliged to make an offer for the remaining shares.

The American billionaire is set for a massive profit should St Louis Rams, one of the sports franchises in the US that he owns, be sold.

Kroenke bought his 40 per cent share in the Rams for US$ 200 million, and it remains to be seen whether this profit would be used to finance a takeover of Arsenal.

Mr Gazidis said: "I don't know that a takeover is inevitable. I think, again, the club has been very public about its desire to operate a self-sustaining business model, and I think all of our owners, those on the board and those outside the board, have subscribed to that philosophy.

"Certainly anyone that's been buying shares understands that this is a self-sustaining business model that they're buying into.

"Whether or not that turns into a takeover bid only those shareholders can ultimately speak too, but I think the fact that nobody has taken their shareholding over 30 per cent, and that 30 per cent number doesn't seem to be a threshold that is imminently going to be crossed, indicates that we don't see a move for a takeover at least at this point."

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