Slaughters, CC and Linklaters score top on Arsenal takeover

Slaughter and May, Clifford Chance (CC) and Linklaters are among a line-up of firms to have won roles on US businessman Stan Kroenke’s full takeover bid for Arsenal Football Club, which values the North London club at £731m.

The deal has also handed roles to Herbert Smith and White & Case, with the duo advising on the financing.

Kroenke, who has turned to CC City partner Tim Lewis for advice, agreed to launch a mandatory full takeover this weekend after his company Kroenke Sports Enterprises (KSE) acquired a majority stake in the club. He now holds 62.89% of shares in the Premier League club.

Kroenke first became an Arsenal shareholder in 2007 when he purchased a 9.9% stake. The deal to take over the rest of the shares has been priced at £521.5m.

The mandatory full takeover proceedings were launched after KSE bought the shares of shareholders Danny Fiszman (16.1%) and Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith (15.9%).

Arsenal has turned to regular corporate adviser Nigel Boardman at Slaughter and May, while Herbert Smith City corporate partner Malcolm Lombers is advising Deutsche Bank London, Kroenke’s financial adviser.

Linklaters is advising Bracewell-Smith with a team led by City corporate partner Ian Bagshaw, while Edwin Coe M&A partner Russel Shear is acting for Fiszman.

White & Case is acting for the lenders, Deutsche Bank NY, with a team comprising banking partners Jake Mincemoyer and Jeremy Duffy and corporate partners Philip Broke and Greg Stonefield in London, as well as New York banking partner David Joyce.

The deal comes one year after CC sealed the hire of top-rated M&A partner Lewis from Macfarlanes.

Slaughters also advised Arsenal last year on the launch of the Arsenal Fanshare scheme, which saw portions of shares in the club made available to supporters at affordable prices. Nabarro represented the Arsenal Supporters’ Trust, while Eversheds advised the Fanshare scheme administrators Equiniti.

Arsenal’s general counsel is Svenja Geissmar, who joined the club in 2009 from her own media law consultancy.