Stan Kroenke raises his stake in Arsenal

Stan Kroenke is determined to raise his stake in English giants Arsenal, despite chaiman's Peter Hill Wood reluctance to handle the club to the new investor. Hill Wood was quoted saying that "he would be horrified to see ownership of the club go across the Atlantic" and supported his claims saying that other major stakeholders have no intentions to sell their share in the club. Kronke however did cause a slight disorder in Arsenal which forced long-term vice-chairman David Dein out of the club. Main reasons for Dein's departure were attributed to "irreconcilable differencies" with other directors as it is generally believed that Dein was the main protagonist in persuading other directors to follow his steps and sell their share to American, who is not a novice to football – Kroenke owns Major League Soccer side Colorado Rapids.

Kroenke increased his stake to 12%, mainly as a result of buying a shareholding on English media network ITV which represents 9.9% stake at the club. It is widely speculated that Kroenke is stepping up his interest to buy off Dein's stake (his 14% share is estimated at approximately 60 million pounds), which would mean that his total stake would be just under 27%. If American manages to raise his stake at 29.9%, he will be obliged by takeover rules to launch a formal bid for the London based club. Will Randy Lerner, David Gillett, Tom Hicks and Malcolm Glazer greet some new company?