Kroenke adds to his stake in Arsenal with Carr deal

It was confirmed last night that the Arsenal director Stan Kroenke has increased his stake in the club to 28.3 per cent by buying 4,839 shares from members of the Carr family, including fellow director Richard Carr

A statement on the club’s official website said: “The shares were acquired at prices of £8,500 per share and £10,500 per share. As a result of the acquisition, Stan Kroenke has a beneficial interest in, and controls voting rights over 17,613 ordinary shares in the company, representing 28.3 per cent of the company’s issued ordinary shares.”

Kroenke, who owns a number of American sports teams including the Denver Nuggets and the Colorado Avalanche, has gradually increased his holding in the club and last year was invited to join the Arsenal board in a move seen as an attempted block on the ambitions of fellow shareholder and Uzbek-born billionaire Alisher Usmanov.

His decision to buy the Carr shares was welcomed by the Arsenal Supporters’ Trust, who said in a statement: “We were the first shareholders at Arsenal to welcome Kroenke’s initial investment. We have since established a good dialogue with him and this will continue.

“Our position is that stability and plurality in ownership is to the benefit of Arsenal,” the Trust added. “New chief executive Ivan Gazidis has made a good impression and says he values our role and the importance of custodianship.”