Becoming a Russian Oligarch After Rebirth
Chapter 751: Inside and Outside Collusion_1

Chapter 751: Chapter 751: Inside and Outside Collusion_1

Being involved in London’s football circle, the news of Chelsea’s acquisition couldn’t be hidden for long. Yet, the details of the deal involving A Bu hadn’t been finalized yet, and rumblings were all that has come out so far.

Wenger had also heard of this, but didn’t know any specifics.

However, David Dain should have known about it. After all, his sources were considerably more plugged-in than Wenger’s.

Sure enough, upon hearing Wenger’s question, David Dain smiled slightly. "Yes, indeed, there is such news. Let me tell you, with the arrival of new owners for both Chelsea and Arsenal, the layout of the Premier League will change next year! These new owners... they really are loaded!"

Wenger was somewhat skeptical. No matter how rich they were, just how wealthy could they be?

Will Arsenal and Chelsea surpass Manchester United, Real Madrid, Barcelona, and others in terms of wealth?

This seems utterly impossible!

Even the wealthiest owners couldn’t keep up with the massive annual investments required by the club. Just look at the Moratti family of Inter Milan, who were nearly bankrupt trying to maintain the club’s continued high investments...

"Who is this new owner? A super-rich local from Britain?" Wenger asked further.

However, when it came to this question, David Dain refused to divulge any details to Wenger.

"Just wait a little while longer, and all will be clear. When the time comes, the new owner will naturally make an appearance. I can’t reveal his identity yet, but it’ll definitely surprise you!"

As a matter of fact, the surprise that Wang Ye would bring to Wenger would be more than one...

......

With Kaja leading the acquisition team to London, and after having met with A Bu’s professional team, Kaja formally took over all the work of acquiring Arsenal Club.

David Dain also visited the hotel where Kaja and her team were staying to hold a few closed-door talks.

Meanwhile, the Premier League was still in full swing.

Arsenal was playing against a mid-table team at home. However, just before the match, some bad news came in.

Two of the team’s key players, Henry and Vieira, were unable to play. One had food poisoning, and the other injured his back after accidentally falling off the bed while sleeping.

With both of them absent, the strength of the team was severely compromised and they couldn’t even win against a mid-table team, losing with a small score of 0:1.

Although this match did not decide anything – the team had long lost hope of winning the championship and was not going to drop out of the top three anyway.

However, this also meant that the club had come away empty-handed this season, without any championship to its name.

Perhaps this was the final straw that broke the camel’s back.

In the board meeting of the club, the minor shareholders couldn’t hide their disappointed emotions and began to complain.

"Is Coach Wenger really capable or not? We invested quite a bit in transfers last summer, brought in several players at high prices, and yet we didn’t gain anything this year."

By significant "investment," the shareholder referred to the club providing Wenger with over ten million pounds sterling in transfer fees last year to fulfill Wenger’s squad-building demands.

"Indeed, we had a good record in the first half of the season, but we stumbled as soon as the second half began. Ah, we achieved nothing significant in UEFA Champions League, and the club’s finances are so tight. It’s a tough situation," another frustrated shareholder commented.

Listening to everyone’s complaints, David Dain sat there expressionless.

He was used to such scenes as they occurred quite often.

Only after everyone finished lamenting did he speak.

"I think we should find a majority shareholder with real strength for the club.

We, the existing shareholders alone, can no longer support the club.

We do need someone willing and able to inject funds into the club, a major amount of funds – tens of millions of pounds sterling.

The loan itself amounts to tens of millions of pounds sterling and has become a heavy burden on our club.

As long as these loans remain unpaid, the financial situation of the club can’t improve. Consequently, we won’t be able to invest in the transfer market. Without strengthening the team, of course, we won’t have good records. This is a vicious cycle...."

If this had been in the past, perhaps some people would still be unwilling to give up their shares and would still cling to a glimmer of hope.

But as the team’s performance continued to stagnate, especially with the loss of the most recent match, some shareholders could not keep up anymore.

One shareholder began to speak: "I also support David’s proposal. But where do we find someone to acquire the club now? These recent years, all industries are experiencing a slump. Large scale investments are rare, especially in football."

David Dain calmly replied, "I’ve been thinking about this, and have been in contact with some potential investors. However, if someone acquires the club, they would definitely want the entire acquisition. They wouldn’t only buy a portion of the shares and have all the messy group of people on the board, all with divergent opinions. So, if there’s someone willing to offer a good price, would you all be willing to sell your shares?"

Previously, David Dain had already communicated privately with a few shareholders.

Hence, as soon as he asked this question, someone immediately "cooperated."

An excited shareholder asked, "Is there really someone willing to acquire our club? How much are they offering? If the price is right, I’d be the first to transfer my shares!"

As soon as he finished speaking, another shareholder quickly added, "Don’t fight with me. As long as the price is good, let me be the first to transfer the shares. As everyone knows, my family’s company is in a very bad situation, barely holding on, and waiting to cash in on the club shares to save the family company."

With these two leading the way, other shareholders couldn’t just sit back and watch.

They expressed one after another that there would be absolutely no problem in offering their shares, it all depended on the price.

If the price is right, then everyone agreed to sell their shares.

Of course, not all shareholders were willing to transfer their shares. One or two shareholders held opposing views and disagreed with selling their shares.

However, they had a very low percentage of shares, which didn’t affect the acquisition at all.

Moreover, whether to sell or not was not up to them. When Wang Ye’s share acquisition reached more than 75 percent, he could directly initiate privatization. By then, whether they wanted to sell or not, they would have to sell!

This was stipulated by the law, the majority shareholder has the power to kick you out of the game!

......

The long-planned acquisition was finally clarified in this board meeting.

After a heated discussion, the shareholders were unanimous: as long as the club’s valuation was no less than 1.5 billion pounds sterling, they would agree to sell their shares!

Of course, old shareholders would not deal with the club’s debts anymore, leaving it to the new owner.

With assistance from both inside and outside, the acquisition matter was finally nearing success!