Spotify owner Daniel Ek ready to submit first bid for Arsenal takeover
By Varun Aithal
It is being widely reported that Spotify owner Daniel Ek will table his first bid in an attempt to buy Arsenal Football Club.
The billionaire is well aware this will be a long process in his journey to potentially becoming an owner of the Premier League club. After a long time, Arsenal fans have something to look forward to.
The club is enduring a tough time in the league and off the pitch their financial condition is deteriorating day by day due to the pandemic.
The fans were accepting of the mediocre performances on the pitch but unwillingly so. What has made matters worse, was the recent involvement of the current owners, the Kroenke family, in the European Super League proposal.
The “KroenkeOut” slogan has found its voice once again. Daniel Ek, the Swedish billionaire is set to take advantage of the situation and is willing to buy the North London club.
Daniel Ek’s recent tweet has infused a sense of belief in Gooners across the world. They undoubtedly believe that their club will be left in the right hands if a sale of Arsenal does transpire.
The Spotify founder is a childhood Arsenal fan and wants to bring the glory days back to the Emirates. He also stated that he will be happy to throw his hat into the ring if the Kroenke family are willing to sell the club.
According to the news that broke on Wednesday, Daniel Ek has already secured the funds to launch the takeover bid.
Late Wednesday evening, news surfaced that the potential buyer has mustered together the funds required to table his first offer, knowing well and true it will get rejected.
It was further said that the Spotify owner has the support of club legends Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Patrick Vieira, who have all shown an interest in acquiring stakes in the club.
Talking to CNBC, Daniel Ek said:
"I have secured the funds for it and I want to bring what I think is a very compelling offer to the owners and I hope they hear me out. I just see a tremendous opportunity to set a real vision for the club to bring it back to its glory.I just focus on the club, I focus on the fans and I focus on trying to bring the club back to glory(Via: Sky Sports) All English Premier League The Top Flight 0d - 3 reasons why other clubs are ‘annoyed’ by Erik ten Hag and Manchester United More headlines around FanSided: 1d - When should Chelsea start to panic about Mauricio Pochettino? 1d - Arsenal player ratings vs Everton: Super-sub Leandro Trossard wins it 1d - Manchester United: Erik ten Hag's constant "crybaby" excuses don't add up 1d - Barcelona remain interested in this exiled Manchester United "flop" 1d - "Hurts me" Arsenal legend makes shock Spurs admission after comeback More News at The Top Flight"
Ek is set to launch a takeover bid in the region of £1.8 billion in the upcoming days along with Bergkamp, Viera and Henry.
Even though this deal seems like a grand prospect, pundits and experts are skeptical about the nature of funding. Daniel Ek has 8% shares in Spotify which is valued at $4 billion – owing to the fall of share price in NYSE.
However, one can remember how the Glazers funded the Manchester United takeover in 2005. The Old Trafford outfit was bought through loans by the Glazers and now they are millions behind in debt.
Arsenal are precariously placed 10th in the Premier League standings and can slip down one more position if Aston Villa wins their game in hand. The Gunners are 12 points behind the fourth-placed Chelsea and eight behind sixth-placed Liverpool.
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There is a realistic chance for Arsenal to win the Europa League. They travel to Spain and take on La Liga side, Villarreal. Following this, they face the Newcastle United test at St James Park over the weekend.