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Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke gets £6.1bn takeover boost from America
Stan Kroenke has delegated many of his Arsenal duties to son Josh in recent years – but rest assured, he is still the ultimate authority when it comes to the big, business-defining decisions.
Perhaps as a direct response to the aborted Super League plot or not, Josh Kroenke has taken action to improve the transparency of the KSE regime’s strategy at the Emirates.
Granted, it was a low bar – Stan Kroenke didn’t earn the moniker ‘Silent Stan’ for no reason.
But Josh Kroenke’s revelation that Arsenal are exploring the possibility of expanding the Emirates and Edu Gaspar’s communication over transfers do represent steps in the right direction.
In 2023-24 compared to the previous season, Arsenal also registered an improved Fan Engagement Index Score, which assesses dialogue, governance and transparency.
The Kroenke empire encompasses nine sports teams in total, as well as a multi-billion dollar property portfolio.
In what was perhaps the ultimate exhibition of KSE’s biggest assets, Arsenal played Man United at the Kroenke-owned SoFi Stadium.
That arena, considered by many to be the best in the world, houses Kroenke’s LA Rams NFL franchise.
And the Missouri-born tycoon has received an update regarding the Rams that will likely interest Arsenal fans.
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Kroenke sport empire’s value soars
Because of the relatively fixed costs and security that the franchise model provides, as well as the astronomical value of the US broadcast market, NFL outfits are extremely lucrative.
And their enterprise value corresponds.
When Stan Kroenke outright bought the LA Rams in 2010 – then the St Louis Rams, six years prior to their relocation to Los Angeles – the franchise was valued at $750m.
Now, in a new valuation, industry experts have estimated the Rams’ value at (£6.1bn).
By any metric, that is a mightily impressive capital appreciation exercise.
While the Kroenke family have no plans to pull out of Arsenal any time soon, their ultimate aim is also to increase the value of the club before flipping it for a huge profit.
When KSE took 100 per cent control of the Arsenal in 2018, the club was valued at around £800m.
Now, they would likely fetch up to four times that amount.
For context, North London rivals Tottenham’s shareholders value the club at a chunky £3.75bn as they look for minority investment.
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How much are Arsenal worth? When will Stan Kroenke sell the club?
When Chelsea were sold to Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital in 2022, the investment valued the club at 5.2 times their annual revenue.
Applying a similar revenue multiple to Arsenal, who earned £467m over the last financial year, gives them a value of £2.43bn.
However, Arsenal have a higher EBITDA (earnings before interest, tac, depreciation and amortisation) and do not require the same level of infrastructure investment as Chelsea.
Therefore, you can assume that an investor would likely pay a premium – and that would probably bump enterprise value up to beyond the £3bn mark.
Ultimately, value is subjective and depends on market factors.
In terms of when Kroenke plans to divest, their strategy suggests that they are in it for the long haul.
They have recently strayed from what was once a relatively conservative approach in the transfer market, and KSE are also confident of realising big increases in commercial revenue.
It will not be until they club unlocks a new plane of revenue that they consider going to the market in order to get a return on their investment.