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Kroenke buys out Usmanov

Stan Kroenke has bought out Alisher Usmanov's 30 per cent stake in Arsenal for £550m in cash. The sale, which values the shares in the club at £1.8bn, marks only a small step up from the £525m offer rejected by Mr Usmanov last October.

Mr Kroenke will now have sole control of the club as he will be able to buy up other shares and delist it. 'Silent Stan' is unpopular with Arsenal fans who would prefer a plurality of ownership and are concerned about reduced transparency.

Kroenke insists that the buyout will not be leveraged against the club: Kroenke's plans

Using an implied market value of £1.8bn, the deal is valued at 16 times last year's ebidta, a cash earnings measure. That is more than a quarter above Manchester United's valuation and double that of Juventus.

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