The American sports tycoon Stan Kroenke has increased his stake in English Premier League football club Arsenal to 28.3 percent and become the biggest shareholder.
Kroenke joined the board last year and has bought 4839 shares from members of director Richard Carr's family, paying more than $100 million.
The prices Kroene paid value the club at nearly $1.4 billion and he has leapfrogged Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, who was the largest shareholder with about 25 percent.
British media, including the Financial Times, say the prospect of a contested takeover has edged closer with the American's holding now close to the 30 percent threshold that would force him to make an automatic offer for the remaining shares.
