Chapter 330: Determined to Buy

A black Mercedes SL600 sports car drove along North Hollywood Avenue and stopped in front of a recently renovated two-story villa in the Hollywood Hills.

Charles Capet leaned back in his chair, holding a phone with his left hand while soothing himself with his right hand.

"Granada Venture Capital Group owns 17% shares of Arsenal Holdings, offering a price of PS78 million!" On the other end of the call was Charles' mother, Evelyn Capet.

"So expensive?" Charles took a deep breath, unsure whether he was surprised or excited.

"There's no choice, Granada Venture Capital Group initially had around 14% shares of Arsenal. Once they knew you wanted to buy, they gathered more shares. Our ETA has many collaborations with them," Evelyn explained. "And it's not just you; Stan Kroenke's sports investment company is also negotiating to acquire those shares!"

"Stan Kroenke, I knew it," Charles guessed instantly. "It's because David Dein has been in contact with the Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, and the Arsenal board is looking for American allies. These shares, I want them. Let's do a direct cash transaction," Charles decided.

This deal would value Arsenal at nearly PS460 million, not to mention Arsenal's debt exceeding PS200 million.

This year, Tom Hicks and George Gillett bought Liverpool for little more than PS200 million. Since Arsenal had the new Emirates Stadium, it seemed a worthy deal.

"Charles, the pound to dollar exchange rate is 1:2 now. Are you sure?" Evelyn reminded.

"Absolutely, I will own Arsenal for under PS500 million, tell David Dein and other board shareholders that I'm buying their shares directly with cash. Also, inform Arsenal's audit committee that I can repay PS200 million of debt ahead of schedule!" Charles was determined. After all, borrowing pounds meant repaying pounds. When the financial crisis hit, the dollar would strengthen, and the exchange rate would fall below 1:2.

Charles asked Dona Williams to seek loans worth 600 million pounds from British capital institutions, planning to profit from the exchange rate.

"Also, warn Stan Kroenke, if he keeps trying to buy Arsenal, I might just buy the St. Louis Rams!" Charles finished.

"Alright, I'll handle it," Evelyn said before ending the call.

After Charles put down his phone, there was a rustling sound, and Britney Spears, who had been busy, raised her head and sat back up.

"Phew," Charles enjoyed a moment of relaxation before patting Britney's golden hair.

"Charles, it's awesome that you're buying Arsenal," Britney commented, impressed by the figure of hundreds of millions of pounds.

"Not as awesome as you, not even a drop escaped your lips," Charles laughed out loud.

"You're so bad; let's go inside," Britney giggled, gave Charles a little slap, and opened the car door. The villa in front of them belonged to Britney.

...

At ETA headquarters, after talking to her son, Evelyn Capet made a few more calls.

She looked at the documents on Stan Kroenke's KSE investment company, which owned the Denver Nuggets, the Colorado Avalanche (hockey), and the Denver Pepsi Center arena.

As for the NFL's St. Louis Rams, when the Los Angeles Rams moved to St. Louis in Missouri in 1995, Stan Kroenke acquired a 40% stake, along with a right of first refusal to buy the remaining 60% from the club's owner, Frontiere.

Although Stan Kroenke was married to Ann Walton, one of Walmart's heiresses, his net worth was still under $2 billion, certainly not as substantial as Charles'.

Knowing her son, if Stan Kroenke tried to sabotage Charles's acquisition of Arsenal, Charles was sure to make a move on the 60% stake in the St. Louis Rams.

After all, the right of first refusal depended on the price offered by other buyers!

Three days later, Capet Sports Entertainment signed an agreement with Granada Venture Capital for the transfer of the 17% share in Arsenal.

...

In Colorado, Denver, inside Stan Kroenke's luxurious mansion, the 59-year-old Stan Kroenke hung up the phone with a blank expression.

His mustache twitched slightly. KSE had already been in touch with Granada Venture Capital, but suddenly, Hollywood tycoon Charles Capet swooped in and bought those Arsenal shares with cash without hesitation.

"Mr. Kroenke, Capet Sports Entertainment seems determined to get Arsenal. They've prepared a lot of funds, not just to buy Arsenal with cash but also to repay the debts from the new stadium," his assistant sighed. The asset gap was clear; Stan Kroenke's estimated net worth was about $1.5 billion.

But how much was Charles Capet worth? Just Capet Entertainment alone was hard to value, not counting his investments on Wall Street!

"Forget it, these young people!" Stan Kroenke, often called "Silent Stan" for his low profile, was admittedly worried. If Charles did get involved with the St. Louis Rams, Kroenke wasn't confident he could compete.

Currently, the Rams' majority owner Frontiere's health was poor, clearly not long for this world, and his children had no interest in running the team.

On Friday, Matrix Pictures, a Capet subsidiary, released Saw V. On its opening weekend, across 3,060 theaters in North America, it grossed $30.5 million!

At the same time, ETA convinced David Dein to transfer his 14.6% shares of Arsenal to Capet Sports Entertainment for PS67 million.

Capet Sports Entertainment Group acquired a substantial stake in the Premier League giant Arsenal, becoming the club's largest shareholder.

Charles didn't care about the massive stir in the Premier League; he knew he needed to head to London personally to deal with Arsenal's board.

*****

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