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Usmanov to up his Arsenal share stake to beyond 40%


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ALISHER USMANOV'S grip on Arsenal is tightening with the Russian billionaire close to seizing full control of the club.Usmanov has steadily been gaining power at the Emirates, taking his initial purchase of 14.58 per cent in 2007 to 25.1 this year.Now he is ready to buy another chunk of the club from former board member Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith.If successful, that will take him well over the 29.9 per cent mark and, under Stock Exchange rules, trigger an automatic takeover bid.A source close to the Gunners confirmed: "This has been on the cards for some time."Mr Usmanov has gradually been acquiring additional shares and now there is the chance to buy a very hefty and significant amount."The Arsenal board will want to resist a takeover so there are some interesting times ahead."SunSport understands Lady Bracewell-Smith is ready to sell her 15.9 per cent stake.If she dealt with Usmanov, that would make him the Gunners' biggest shareholder with 41 per cent.Arsenal's other major investors are Stan Kroenke (28.58) and Danny Fiszman (16.1).Lady Bracewell-Smith has been considering her options since December when she was ousted from the board by Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood and Fiszman. Her shares are key in the growing battle for control being fought by Fiszman, Usmanov and his company Red & White Holdings and American sports tycoon Kroenke.Lady Bracewell-Smith is also thought to have received overtures from a second Russian businessman interested in investing in Premier League soccer.But the main focus remains on Usmanov and Kroenke.Both were introduced to Arsenal in 2007 by former vice-chairman David Dein and have raced each other to buy up shares. Usmanov has been operating outside of the club, while Kroenke has been embraced by the board.An ugly fight is forecast with Fiszman and Kroenke tipped to resist any takeover.AdvertisementRecent Arsenal shares have exchanged hands at £8,500 each and Lady Bracewell-Smith can expect to receive around £100m for her stake.But neither Fiszman or Kroenke want to sell and they certainly will not accept the going rate, so Usmanov will have to dig deep.Usmanov, 55, made his fortune as a metal and mining mogul and has a reputation for being a hardman even among Russia's oligarchs.Before investing in Arsenal his only previous involvement in sport came as president of the Russian and European fencing associations.Red & White Holdings declined to comment.But Gunners chief executive Ivan Gazidis said: "The club has a very clear philosophy which is that it is bigger than any single owner."
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What does this all mean. I don't follow the backstage politricks too closely, although im interested in what the possibilities are.
If this is the same dude that owns Red & White (David Dein), and he gets in...
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On 2 September 2007, Craig Murray, the former British ambassador to Uzbekistan and self-proclaimed dissident, referred to Alisher Usmanov's conviction for various crimes – of fraud, corruption and theft of state property – in the former USSR, for which he had been jailed for six years during the 1980s, as well as making further allegations of criminal activity.[5] Usmanov's lawyers claim he was a political prisoner pardoned after Mikhail Gorbachev became president,[5] though Murray claims the pardon was actually the work of Uzbekistan President Islom Karimov on the instructions of Uzbekistani power broker and alleged drug trafficker Gafur Rakhimov. [36], and The Sunday Times states that his pardon came from the Uzbekistan Supreme Court.[37]. 'He was in no sense a political prisoner, but a gangster and racketeer who rightly did six years in jail,' wrote Murray.[38] The article was subsequently removed by Murray's web host under pressure from Usmanov's legal team, London's Schillings law firm - defamation specialists who have acted for celebrities, including BP's Lord Browne, Congolese president's son Denis Christel Sassou-Nguesso, actress Keira Knightley, UK TV personality Jonathan Ross and models Caprice Bourret and Naomi Campbell.[38] Mr Murray's article has now however been re-instated.Schillings also contacted independent Arsenal blogs and websites warning them to remove any references to Murray's allegations, and any reproduction of the blog posting.[5] The move to remove Murray's posting led to other blogs reproducing the article. On 20 September 2007, Bloggerheads.com, the weblog of Tim Ireland, was taken down for reproducing Murray's article. The removal of the host server also caused the loss of other blogs belonging to the MP Boris Johnson, councillor Bob Piper and Clive Summerfield – none of which themselves had reproduced the article.[39] However, this move by Usmanov to suppress discussion of his past has only served to unify various blogs against him.[39] On 25 September 2007 Summerfield and Piper were interviewed on BBC Radio 5 Live about the controversy. [40]UK Indymedia reported that they were one of the sites that had been issued with a take down notice on the 10 September 2007 and again on 21 September [41]. Although the article in question has been temporarily hidden, a number of others have been prominently linked to.
Theres a whole f*ck*ng tab for criminal convictions on his wiki page ffs
Do not want.
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