Field Fisher Waterhouse advises Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov on buying stake in Arsenal Football Club from David
31 August 2007
Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP advised Red and White Holdings
Limited on the purchase of a 14.5% stake in Arsenal Holdings Plc
for £75m, making Red and White the third largest shareholder in
Arsenal. Red and White is looking to build this stake.
Red and White is an investment company which has been
established specifically to hold the share interests in
Arsenal. Red and White is jointly owned and controlled by Mr
Alisher Usmanov, the leading Russian businessman, and Mr Farhad
Moshiri, a London-based investor and long time business associate
of Mr Usmanov.
David Dein will be joining Red and White as Chairman and will
have day to day focus on developing its proposals relating to
Arsenal. Red and White intends to meet with the Board of
Arsenal in the near future.
Mr Usmanov and Mr Moshiri are longstanding clients of Field
Fisher Waterhouse. Corporate partner Alex Woodfield advised
Mr Usmanov in his last major UK investment in Corus Group in 2004/5
and acted for Mr Moshiri in his purchase of 9.9% of leading broker
Panmure Gordon earlier this year.
The Field Fisher Waterhouse team acting on the deal comprised
corporate
partners Alex
Woodfield, Neil
Foster, David
Wilkinson and Anthony Brockbank,
tax partner Nick Noble and corporate
solicitors James Shaw, Caroline Nicholls and Owen Oliver.
Red and White is one of a number of prestigious sport sector clients advised by the
firm, including the Rugby Football Union, the MCC and Sport
England.
Alex
Woodfield said: “We are excited to be working with Red and
White as they secure a stake in one of the world’s leading football
clubs. Arsenal is a great opportunity for the Red and White team
and we look forward to working with them as they manage this
investment.”
Travers Smith (Anthony Foster) advised David Dein.
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