Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote is still interested in investing in English Premier League side Arsenal FC after a failed bid in 2010. Although he denied he was interested in buying a stake in the club at the time, he has now signified interest and claims he has a strategy for investing in the North London club.
Like most fans, Dangote believes the club needs a new direction and would like manager Arsene Wenger “to change his style a bit”. He is not just another businessman who wants more money, but also a passionate fan of the club. Thus, if he makes a move to buy, Arsenal fans are likely to support him. Independent polls have already shown that majority of the club’s supporters think Arsenal need new investment.
However, the richest black man is not going to invest in Arsenal just yet. “I still hope, one day at the right price, that I’ll buy the team,” he said in an interview.
“I might buy it, not at a ridiculous price but a price that the owners won’t want to resist. I know my strategy.”
Dangote will only consider buying Arsenal after he is able to take his company to desired level. As his short-term growth plan, his Group has investments worth $16 billion planned for the next few years.
If Dangote will stand a chance of taking up the ownership status at the Emirates Stadium, he will need to convince Stan Kroenke who holds 66.64 percent stake in Arsenal and 29.11 percent held by Uzbek billionaire Alisher Usmanov and London-based financier Farhad Moshiri through Red and White Sec Limited.
If the Nigerian convinces current owners of the club to sell, he will only be parting with 5.1 percent of his fortune as Arsenal is worth $1.3 billion. While a good offer may be welcomed by Red and White, it is unlikely that Kroenke will be swayed by Dangote’s offer. The American entrepreneur has a two-decade-old interest in sports business. The sports mogul bought his first team in 1995 through his Kroenke Sports Enterprises. He owns six professional franchises, including the National Football League’s St. Louis Rams, NBA’s Denver Nuggets and NHL’s Colorado Avalanche.
Same cannot be said about Dangote, who is known for interests in cement, sugar and flour. He is also investing $11 billion in an oil refinery to be located near Lagos. But his multi-billion dollar investments globally focuses on consumer goods, oil and gas and construction. None of his assets is sports-related. Kroenke’s business is sports and it is the only thing he has more than the African billionaire whose fortune quadruples his own.
Whether Kroenke will give up his stake for a good sum remains to be seen, but like Dangote said, he knows his strategy. He will offer “a price that the owners won’t want to resist”.
