Daniel Ek, CEO and co-founder of Spotify AB, stands for a photo after a press conference in Tokyo, Japan, on Thursday, September 29, 2016.
Akio Kon | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Spotify owner Daniel Ek says he is prepared for a “long journey” with his offer to buy Arsenal and will make “a very compelling offer” to get the Kroenke family to sell.
Swedish billionaire Ek, 38, who has enlisted the support of club legends Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Patrick Vieira, is expected to make his first £ 1.8 billion offer in the next few days.
The Kroenkes, whose possession was again rejected after the club’s participation in the failed European Super League last week, insist on “not maintaining an offer”.
Ek expects the Kroenkes to decline his original offer but is ready to be patient in what is expected to be a long process.
Speaking to Sky’s sister station CNBC, Ek said, “I have secured the funds and I want to make what I think is a very compelling offer to the owners and I hope they will hear me out.”
Ek, who expressed interest in a deal on Twitter last Friday night, said he was “very serious” about his takeover bid and wanted to “get the fans back on track”.
“I just see a tremendous opportunity to develop a real vision for the club to bring it back to its glory,” he added.
He has already indicated that if he manages to buy the club, he would be open to fan representation on the Arsenal board, including the ability to give fans a “golden share” that gives them a veto right over important decisions.
“I just focus on the club, I focus on the fans and I focus on bringing the club back to stardom,” added Ek, speaking after Spotify announced its first quarter results on Wednesday.
“I’m a fan first and foremost, that’s the most important thing for me. I want the club to do better. That’s my main interest.”
Ek, who co-founded Spotify in 2006 and is valued at £ 3.2 billion, does not consider his approach to buying the club personal and was careful not to criticize the current owners during his television appearance.
Stan Kroenke, who owns Kroenke Sports & Entertainment (KSE), has owned Arsenal since April 2011.
KSE also owns the NFL franchise Los Angeles Rams, the NBA team Denver Nuggets, the NHL team Colorado Avalanche and the MLS team Colorado Rapids.
Arsenal director Josh Kroenke told a fan forum that his family will work harder to be more effective with fans in the future.
Mikel Arteta’s team, currently in 10th place and 12 points behind fourth-placed Chelsea, must effectively win the Europa League if they are to play European football next season.
Fans who are dissatisfied with Kroenkes have someone to rally behind.
Analysis by Sky Sports News reporter Kaveh Solhekol:
“The skeptics said this was a publicity stunt. The cynics said there was no way this would happen. Well, we’ve now heard from the captain himself. Daniel Ek has made it clear that he is very serious about buying Arsenal , he has secured the funds. We know Arsenal is worth at least £ 2bn which would suggest that he has managed to raise this type of funding to advance this proposed deal.
“He describes it as a very compelling, thoughtful offer and says to the Kroenkes, ‘Please listen to me, I’ll make this offer in the next few days, it will be presented to you and then it’s up to you to decide. He knows already that the Kroenkes have said that Arsenal is not for sale. This is no surprise, of course no one will come out and tell their Premier League club what it’s worth. Billions of pounds are for sale. But in business, like our colleagues at CNBC stressed everything has a price.
“If he can get the Kroenkes to sell, he’ll be ready to move in and buy Arsenal. In the long term, I find it interesting that he himself said he was prepared for a long journey. be rejected, he expects the Kroenke’s to tell him that the club is not for sale. But now he will always be in the background. We know he’s a real fan, he’s been a fan for 30 years. We know now he’s close to Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Patrick Vieira. He has the legends on board, and those fans who are dissatisfied with the Kroenkes now have someone to rally behind. “
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How could Ek fund Arsenal’s takeover bid?
Sky News business host Ian King tells Sky Sports News:
“I think he was pretty measured, to be honest. He answered all the questions they asked him about Arsenal. What I took away from is that he said, ‘I don’t expect this to be anything is what it is. ” done overnight. “He’s not going to try to rush his fences on that note.
Arsenal Bosnian defender Sead Kolasinac (R) was born in Germany and plays the ball during the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Manchester United on March 10, 2019 at the Emirates Stadium in London.
Ben Stansall | AFP | Getty Images
“Many questions arise from the interview he gave to CNBC. One of them is that he received the funding, where he got it from and, if successful, what assets the funding would have, for example in his stake in Spotify secure?
“His fortune has actually been misreported in the last few days. I mean the exact detail is that he owns 8 percent of Spotify, and currently Spotify shares on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) are actually down 10 percent this afternoon. That Corporate Now it’s worth around $ 50 billion, so he owns 8 percent of the $ 50 billion – roughly $ 4 billion, to be precise. Now we don’t know if he has any excess cash.
“Don’t forget that a lot of Arsenal fans keep their fingers crossed and hope to see the Kroenke. Keep in mind, however, that you’ve seen other football club takeovers – especially when the Glazer family bought Manchester United – a lot of it was debt financed, they didn’t raise a lot of equity to buy this business and accordingly much of it was backed up against the club’s assets and debt servicing was a tremendous burden, a tremendous outflow over the years in Manchester United’s coffers. “