Asian tycoon Doan Nguyen Duc targets stake in Arsenal

No end to foreign investment as Vietnamese builds on existing ties with club and Usmanov increases his share

Matthew Goodman - The Times

ONE OF the richest businessmen in Vietnam has declared an interest in buying a big stake in Arsenal Football Club.

According to local media reports, Doan Nguyen Duc, chairman of the Hoang Anh Gia Lai club (HAGL), has said he wants to buy a 20% stake in the club. He said he had hired a firm of consultants to carry out detailed research – due diligence – on Arsenal’s finances and to investigate the feasibility of such a purchase.

News of his interest in the club, who played Manchester United in the fifth round of the FA Cup at Old Trafford yesterday, comes two days after Alisher Usmanov, the Russian oligarch, increased his stake in the Gunners to 24%.

“I have plans for Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group to buy up to a 20% stake in Arsenal in the next several years,” Duc is reported to have said. “We know that it takes time for us to reach the target, but we have a determination, and project the target to be realised over two to three years.”

He said that his company had funding available for such a move but declined to discuss how much he planned to invest in Arsenal. He will also have to secure permission from the Vietnamese government as indirect investment in overseas markets is difficult legally.

Duc is chairman and owner of a 55% stake in HAGL, which is one of the leading clubs in the Vietnamese league. The team already has a relationship with the London side – the two signed a technical and marketing agreement in March 2007 aimed at building a new youth academy in Vietnam and developing the English club’s presence in Asia. In October, Duc met Arsene Wenger in London, where it was confirmed that Arsenal would play two friendlies against HAGL in December.

Duc is the latest foreign tycoon to have declared an interest in Arsenal. Usmanov, through his investment vehicle Red & White Holdings, which is chaired by former Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein, had last year been aggressively buying up shares but had been relatively quiet for the past few months until the announcement last Friday of his latest round of stake-building.

Stan Kroenke, an American property entrepreneur with interests in a number of US sports franchises, has also amassed a sizeable stake. He owns 12.1% of Arsenal, having acquired his stake from the broadcaster ITV, and enjoys a far more cordial relationship with the board than Usmanov.

The takeover rumours have steadily driven up the club’s share price. A year ago, shares were about £4,500 each but they are worth £8,700 today. That values Arsenal at £538m. But any takeover attempt would be impossible because of a so-called “lockdown” agreement put in place by the club’s board that prevents the directors from selling any shares, except to family members and other trusted individuals, until April 2009. The board speaks for about 45% of all the shares.
The directors have been trying to persuade Kroenke to sign up to the lockdown agreement, and while the American has made some positive noises about his relationship with the club, he has yet to become a party to the agreement.

Premier League clubs have become increasingly popular with overseas investors. Manchester United, Liverpool, Chel-sea, Aston Villa, Derby County, Birmingham City, Manchester City and West Ham have all attracted foreign money in the past three years.