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Sports / Soccer
Arsenal not for sale, chairman to meet billionaire
(Reuters)
Updated: 2007-09-11 11:29
London - Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood has ruled out following the
likes of Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool by selling out to
foreign owners.
Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov sits in his office in Moscow
September 3, 2007. A firm co-owned by Usmanov said on August 30, 2007 it
had bought a 14.6 percent stake in UK soccer club Arsenal from former
Vice Chairman David Dein for 75 million pounds ($150.6
million).?[Reuters]?
"The major shareholders have no intention of selling and wouldn't welcome
an offer," Hill-Wood told the BBC on Monday.
However he did not rule out talking to Russian billionaire Alisher
Usmanov, who bought a 14.58 percent stake in the club last month from
former vice-chairman David Dein.
"We will have a dialogue with any principal or major shareholder,"
Hill-Wood said. "If they've got some sensible proposals we'll listen to
them."
Dein, who believes Arsenal need foreign investment to compete for the
game's big prizes, quit the club in April because of his support for US
billionaire Stan Kroenke. Kroenke bought a 12 percent stake in the club.
Hill-Wood said he had no problem with foreign investors in the Premier
League but said Arsenal would continue to be run on traditional business
lines.
"We have always run Arsenal as a business and kept within reasonable
bounds," he said.
"Most of them are investment people and they're not buying into clubs
because they have the passion for the local team they have supported
since they were two years old.
"They think that football and the Premier League is an attractive
investment and they want a return on that.
"All this nonsense about needing a billionaire to put a whole lot of
money in to help shore up the annual deficit is not going to happen -
it's lunacy."
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