Russian billionaire buys 14 percent of Arsenal for 151 million dollars

Billionaire from Russia Alisher Usmanov wants to increase his stake in Arsenal.

Photo: Russian billionaire buys 14 percent of Arsenal for 151 million dollars

Usmanov's Red and White Holdings Ltd. bought 14.58 percent of Arsenal from former club chairman David Dein on Thursday, paying 75 million pounds (US$151.1 million; EUR 110.7 million) for the stake.

"I have been an Arsenal fan for eight years and I think the club has the best manager in the Premier League," Usmanov was quoted as saying in Friday editions of the Evening Standard. "But this purchase of mine is not a strategic or political one. It's a portfolio investment.

"Arsenal as a business is undervalued. My aim is to steadily increase my package because I think the value of it will grow and will soon reach a higher level. The club has everything to achieve it."

Dein was named chairman of Red and White, and one of his tasks will be to help facilitate the purchase of more shares.

Usmanov is involved in mining, telecoms and natural gas in Russia and was ranked 278th in Forbes magazine's list of the world's richest people in 2006.

He also has a box at Arsenal's Emirates stadium. Usmanov also knows Roman Abramovich, the London-based Russian oligarch who bought Chelsea in 2004.