Nigeria's Richest Man Is Considering Investing in Premier League's Arsenal
Nigeria’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, may invest in English Premier League soccer team Arsenal, his spokesman Joseph Okonma said.
“I can confirm that Aliko Dangote is interested” in an investment, Okonma, said in an interview from Lagos today, declining to comment further. Arsenal finished third in England’s top division this season.
Dangote’s interest comes a month after the team’s fourth- largest shareholder Nina Bracewell-Smith advised New York Blackstone Group LP to find a buyer for her 15.9 percent stake. London’s Sunday Times yesterday reported Dangote’s interested in her stake. The newspaper didn’t say where it got its information.
The 53-year-old would be the first Nigerian to join soccer’s richest league that counts a Russian oligarch, an Arab sheikh and several U.S. businessmen among its roster of overseas investors. Eleven of the league’s 20 teams are under foreign control.
Dangote’s interest comes amid takeover speculation over the 13-time English champion as the club’s two largest shareholders have increased their stakes.
U.S. based-billionaire Stan Kroenke on March 26 moved within 10 shares of the 30 percent share needed to make a mandatory takeover bid. He has a 29.98 percent holding. Russian metals magnate Alisher Usmanov has 26.39 percent through his investment vehicle Red and White Securities Ltd.
The club is valued at around 620 million pounds ($895 million), according to its current share price. Shares in parent company Arsenal Holdings Plc were indicated to rise 150 pounds to 10,500 pounds in Plus market trading today.
Dangote is ranked number 463 on the Forbes Billionaire List, owning an estimated $2.1 billion. He is the president and founder of the Nigerian business conglomerate Dangote Group, which has interests in sugar, wheat, cement manufacturing, real estate, fisheries and energy.
To contact the reporter on this story: Vincent Nwanma in Lagos at vnwanma@bloomberg.netFranz Wild in Johannesburg at fwild@bloomberg.net
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