Aliko Dangote reveals why he failed to buy Arsenal Football Club
Nigerian Billionaire and Africa’s Richest man, Aliko Dangote, has revealed why he abandoned his long-standing dream of buying Arsenal F.C., saying he chose instead to channel his resources into completing the $20 billion Dangote Refinery project.
The billionaire industrialist made the disclosure during a recent podcast interview with Nicolai Tangen, CEO of Norges Bank Investment Management.
Dangote said Arsenal was valued at approximately $2 billion at the time he was seriously considering a takeover, but ultimately concluded that investing in his refinery project was the wiser decision.
“I’m a big Arsenal fan, yes, I nearly bought the team,” Dangote said.
“When I was focused on buying Arsenal, I was also focus on the refinery get to its completion. At the time, Arsenal was worth about 2 billion dollars, so I asked myself: should I put my 2 million dollars in Arsenal and allow the business to suffer, or continue the business and continue to remain a very big supporter of Arsenal.”
Dangote said he eventually decided to remain a supporter rather than pursue ownership, noting that Arsenal F.C.’s current valuation had made a takeover even more unrealistic.
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