Henry says Spotify CEO Ek contacted Arsenal owners for takeover offer

Reuters

Published May 03, 2021 11:37PM ET

Updated May 04, 2021 03:39PM ET

(Reuters) - Spotify (NYSE:SPOT) CEO and founder Daniel Ek has contacted Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke's family to make an offer to buy the Premier League club but a takeover could be drawn out, former France international Thierry Henry said.

Ek said last week he had secured the funds to buy Arsenal, valued at $2.8 billion according to Forbes. British media reported Arsenal greats Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Patrick Vieira were backing Ek's bid.

But the club's American owners, under fire from fans following the North London outfit's failed attempt to form a breakaway European Super League, have dismissed talk of a sale.

Kroenke and his son and director Josh put out a joint statement in response to Ek's interest saying they remain "100% committed to Arsenal" and were not interested in selling a stake in the club.

"He (Ek) already reached out (to the Kroenke family) and said himself that he had collected the funds to make sure that he can put in a good bid," Henry told Sky Sports.

"They now need to listen. A lot of people have been screaming that they want the owner out. We are trying to offer a solution involving the fans and getting the DNA of the club back.

"One thing that I want to reiterate is that Daniel will not move away, he will be there waiting to see if they want to sell.

"That is going to take a very long time, we know what we want to do, but first and foremost we need to make sure that we can take over, if they are listening."

Spotify and Arsenal both declined to comment on Henry's observations.