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Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke to bank £2bn as takeover comments resurface
Stan Kroenke’s comments about a potential Arsenal takeover speak volumes about his business plan, especially in the context of big business news emerging from the United States.
Kroenke first bought into Arsenal in 2007, when he acquired a 9.9 per cent stake which he has increased incrementally over the years until he reached 100 per cent in 2018.
The 76-year-old Missouri-born billionaire is the CEO of KSE, the second-most valuable sports empire in the world which encompasses nine teams in total, as well as a huge property portfolio.
Arsenal are Kroenke‘s only sports investment this side of the Atlantic, with the remaining eight teams all operating in the US.
Kroenke, who has passed on many of his day-to-day responsibilities at Arsenal to his son, Josh, in recent years, is still heavily involved in his NBA, MLB, NHL, MLS and esports franchises.
And the latest developments from America illustrates how much Kroenke’s empire is thriving – with potential knock-on effects for Arsenal.
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Arsenal’s Stan Kroenke set for £2bn US windfall
The Gunners have close links to the American arm of Kroenke’s sports portfolio.
Arsenal are currently touring the United States and on Saturday (27 July) will face Man United at the SoFi Stadium, home of Kroenke’s LA Rams NFL side.
Per , the Rams’ enterprise value sits at around £5.4bn.
According to the same source, Kroenke’s NBA franchise the , who won the championship in 2023, are worth £2.6bn.
However, that estimation could be about to skyrocket as a result of the NBA’s new world-record TV deal.
on Wednesday (24 July), the new 11-year agreement with Disney, NBC and Amazon is worth an astonishing £59bn in total.
The NBA’s equal distribution system means that Kroenke’s Nuggets will receive around £2bn of that sum.
There is no indication that Kroenke is looking to sell Arsenal any time soon, but the transformative new NBA deal brings back to light comments he made in 2017 about his long-term plans in North London.
As quoted by , Kroenke said: “There are a lot of easier ways [than owning Arsenal], so many easier ways, to make money, I assure you.
“You guys talk about the downs, maybe that’s the nature of it, but if you’re just trying to make money there are a lot easier ways to do it.
“If you look at our history – just go look at our history. We get into these things to try to build them, to try to grow them.
“You don’t see us selling things. You just don’t. Go and check us. We are committed long-term.”
Rather than making a quick buck, Kroenke’s long-term strategy at Arsenal and beyond is capital appreciation – raising the value of the institution through sustainable growth.
TV income is the single biggest driver for that.
Over the last decade, Arsenal’s annual matchday income has more or less doubled. It was £191m at the last count.
And while the Premier League can still only dream of securing a TV deal worth as much as the NBA’s, the growth – both domestic and international – has been spectacular.
When the time does come for Kroenke to cash in on Arsenal, it will be the club’s broadcast income that will be the most attractive to investors.
TBR Analysis: How does Kroenke’s wider business affect Arsenal’s transfer plans, for Fabian Ruiz and more?
Kroenke wants Arsenal to be a self-funding institution, but he has departed from this philosophy somewhat in the last couple of seasons.
Their net spend over 2022-23 and 2023-24 is almost £300m, and it appears that they will spend big again this summer.
One transfer Arsenal are being linked with is Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Fabian Ruiz.
Ruiz, who dazzled for Spain at Euro 2024, signed for PSG for around £20m in 2022 but will likely fetch a far higher price if he moves to the Emirates this summer.
Arsenal have a great degree of flexibility under the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules, meaning they can afford to spend big and post a sizable financial loss in 2024-25 without breaching PSR.
Unlike the owners of Man City, Newcastle and Chelsea, Kroenke has historically not been willing to continuously bankroll huge losses to fund transfer activity.
But given that the new NBA deal and the franchise nature of his other investments provide so much security across his wider sports empire, he could theoretically change his approach at Arsenal.
That would mean that, as well as deals for the likes of Ruiz and Riccardo Calafiori, the Gunners could continue gamble financially to capitalise on their success on the pitch under Mike Arteta.