Arsenal's board of directors hold the majority of the club's shares, controlling over 60% of share capital. Currently, the club's largest shareholders are Danny Fiszman (a London diamond dealer) and Nina Bracewell-Smith (wife of the grandson of former chairman Sir Bracewell Smith), who hold 25.2% and 15.9% respectively. Vice-chairman David Dein holds 14.6% and fellow director Richard Carr has 4.4%, while club chairman Peter Hill-Wood owns less than 1%.[29] In recent years, with Arsenal becoming a significant media asset, outside organisations have bought into the club. These include entertainment firm Granada Ventures (a subsidiary of ITV plc) (9.9%) and hedge fund Lansdowne Partners (2.7%); Lansdowne used to have a stake in Manchester United before selling it to Malcolm Glazer.[30] In September 2006 an unknown investor bought 700 shares (just over 1% of the club), prompting speculation of a takeover bid,[31] but ultimately no bid was forthcoming.
