Spotify Technology SA Chief Executive Officer Daniel Ek has said he made a bid for London’s Arsenal Football Club that was rejected by American billionaire Stan Kroenke.
The streaming platform founder Daniel Ek together with Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, and Patrick Vieira were set to launch a takeover bid for Arsenal, according to reports.
“It’s important to correct the record,” Ek said on Saturday, referring to reports that he hadn’t made an offer. “This week, an offer was made to both Josh Kroenke and their bankers that included fan ownership, representation at the board, and a golden share for the supporters,” he said.
“They replied that they don’t need the money,” Ek said, adding that he remains “interested and available should that situation ever change.”
According to Forbes, Arsenal is the eighth-most valuable soccer club in the world valued at $2.8 billion. Kroenke, who’s worth $9.7 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, owns all of Arsenal after taking it private several years ago in a deal valuing the club at $2.3 billion.
Daniel expressed his intentions to buy the English Football Club on April 23rd on the popular microblogging site Twitter writing ” As a kid growing up, I’ve cheered for Arsenal as long as I can remember. If KSE would like to sell Arsenal I’d be happy to throw my hat in the ring.”
This was after protests by fans who want the current club owner Stan Kroenke out. The relationship between the fans and the owner worsened when the gunners announced last month that they had signed up as one of the founding members of a breakaway European Super League (ESL).
