Kroenke lifts Arsenal stake

Stan Kroenke purchased 200 more shares in Arsenal, half of them from chairman Peter Hill-Wood, as the US sports franchise owner edged closer to the threshold beyond which he would be forced to launch a takeover bid for the Premier League club.

The club announced that the new purchase, at £8,500 a share, takes Kroenke Sports Enterprises' holding to 29.9 per cent.

It leaves Mr Kroenke less than 100 shares away from the level triggering an automatic takeover bid, although people close to the situation believe Mr Kroenke is unlikely to want to launch a bid at this stage.

The latest share purchase follows an announcement by the club on Tuesday that Mr Kroenke had bought 427 shares from the estate of the late Sir Ernest Harrison.

Mr Hill-Wood has welcomed Mr Kroenke's involvement in the club, inviting him on to the board and encouraging links between the club and the US sports franchises in KSE.

The Arsenal board has shunned the overtures of Alisher Usmanov, the Russian steel magnate whose investment vehicle Red & White Holdings has built a stake in the club of just under 26 per cent.

The Arsenal Supporters Trust, which speaks for some minority shareholders, has said it is comfortable with Mr Kroenke's investment but not with a takeover, preferring a plurality of ownership.