Stan Kroenke, the owner of the Los Angeles Rams, has made a $778 million bid to secure complete control of soccer club Arsenal.
Kroenke, who currently owns 67 percent of the Premier League giant, put the bid which values Arsenal at $2.3 billion to the London Stock Exchange on Tuesday. If approved, the deal would see the 71-year-old’s company, Kroenke Sports & Entertainment (KSE), take control of the remaining shares, 30 percent of which are owned by Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov.
“We at KSE are moving forward with this offer leading to 100 percent ownership of the club,” the company said in a statement. “We appreciate Mr Usmanov’s dedication to the Arsenal Football Club and the storied ethos and history the club represents.
“KSE’s ambitions for the club are to see it competing consistently to win the Premier League and the Champions League, as well as the major trophies in the women’s senior game and at youth level.”
The bid, which is financed by a $722 million loan from Deutsche Bank, drew a scathing response from the Arsenal Supporters’ Trust, which described the news as a “dreadful day for Arsenal FC.”
This is far from Kroenke’s first foray in sports, as the Missouri native owns stakes in the Los Angeles Rams, the Colorado Avalanche, the Denver Nuggets and the Colorado Rapids.
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Here’s how each of them have fared since Kroenke’s arrival.
Arsenal
Kroenke first became involved with Arsenal in April 2007, when Granada Ventures—a subsidiary of UK broadcaster ITV—sold its 9.9 percent stake in Arsenal Holdings to KSE’s British arm. Within four years, Kroenke had taken his shareholding in Arsenal to 62.9 percent—which has since risen to 67—and has been battling Usmanov to take control of the club ever since.
Kroenke’s tenure in north London began just over six months after Arsenal moved into the Emirates Stadium, but instead of proving the catalyst for success fans had hoped for, the new arena developed into a financial burden for the club.
Tasked with balancing the books, it became increasingly difficult for manager Arsene Wenger to sign the stars fans demanded. The Gunners last won a Premier League title in 2004 and finished outside the top four over the last two seasons, with Wenger leaving the club after a 22-year spell, which yielded only three FA Cups in the last 13 seasons.
St. Louis Rams/Los Angeles Rams
Kroenke’s first involvement in sports came in 1995, when he bought a stake in the St Louis Cardinals, after the franchise moved to Missouri from Anaheim. Just over two decades later, in 2016, Kroenke was the chief orchestrator in bringing the franchise back to California, this time to Los Angeles—which had hosted the franchise between 1946 and 1994, even though the Rams played in Anaheim from 1980 onward.
Under Kroenke’s ownership, the St Louis Rams won Super Bowl XXXIV and lost Super Bowl XXXVI, before making two more appearances at the playoffs in two of the next three years.
However, they failed to reach the post-season between 2005 and 2015 and lost the Wild Card Playoffs in their second season back in L.A. last year.
Denver Nuggets
Kroenke took control of the Nuggets in 2000, when he purchased them from Ascent Entertainment Group for $450 million, just three years after the group had been purchased by AT&T’s Liberty Media.
Following the deal, the Nuggets, which are under the control of Kroenke’s wife Ann Walton Kroenke—the daughter of Walmart co-founder James Walton—were placed into a trust to ensure they would remain in the city until at least 2025.
When Kroenke took control of the Nuggets, the franchise was in the sixth of an eight-year absence from the playoffs, a run which ended after they drafted Carmelo Anthony with the third overall pick in the 2003 draft.
With Anthony in their roster, the Nuggets made the postseason seven seasons in a row from the 2004 and reached the Western Conference Finals in 2009.
Following Melo’s departure in 2011, Denver reached the post-season for another two seasons but have not been back to the playoffs since 2013.
Colorado Avalanche
Kroenke acquired the Avalanche in the same deal that saw him buy the Nuggets and, as is the case for the NBA franchise, he transferred ownership of the team to his wife to comply with NFL ownership rules.
In the first season following Kroenke’s takeover, the Avalanche clinched the second Stanley Cup in their history after beating the New Jersey Devils, before losing the Conference Finals the following season.
Between 2004 and 2008, the Avalanche reached the playoffs three times, losing in the Conference Semifinals on each occasion. However, an aging squad and the introduction of the salary cap rule forced the Avalanche to rebuild and, as a result, they failed to make the playoffs in six out of seven seasons between 2011 and 2017.
Against all odds, they returned to the post-season last year but lost 4-2 against the Nashville Predators.
Colorado Rapids
Kroenke’s first foray in soccer came in 2004, when he bought the Colorado Rapids from Phil Anschultz. Six years later, the Rapids won their first and so far only major honor, as they defeated FC Dallas 2-1 to clinch the MLS Cup.
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