'Arsenal could repel takeover'

Updated 09.41 Thu Apr 19 2007
Keywords: Stan Kroenke, takeover, David Dein, Arsenal, football, sport

Arsenal should be able to repel a potential takeover bid from US billionaire Stan Kroenke in the wake of David Dein's departure, according to a leading expert.

Dein, who was vice-chairman, has left the north Londoners and will cease to be a director with immediate effect because of "irreconcilable differences" at the centre of power at Ashburton Grove.

"It's very hard to see how a takeover could succeed if you have got those shareholders on the board with 45.5 per cent of shares saying no" - David Dein

Those differences are understood to be over the direction and ownership of the club, with Dein believed to favour Kroenke's involvement, which would have put him at odds with Arsenal director Danny Fiszman and chairman Peter Hill-Wood.

And speculating on a possible hostile takeover bid, Professor Tom Cannon said: "They trade on the Ofex (Plus Markets) which is the off-the-stock-market exchange.

"It's very hard to see how a takeover could succeed if you have got those shareholders on the board with 45.5 per cent of shares saying no.

"One can be pretty confident that from the smaller shareholders they can pick up the remaining 4.5 per cent of shares to pretty well control 50 per cent of the shares and therefore it's almost inevitable they will be able to block a full-blown takeover."

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