London - United States sports tycoon Stan Kroenke has increased his stage at English Premier League side Arsenal from 12 to over 20 per cent

Kroenke, who has been a member of the Arsenal board since last September, paid 42.5 million pounds (60.3 million dollars) for a third of fellow director Daniel Fiszman's stake in the Gunners.

"After having been invited to join the Board last year I am delighted to be able to increase my shareholding in Arsenal. I will continue to work closely with my Board colleagues to maintain the stable environment in which the Club operates and to preserve the self-sustaining business model enjoyed by the club," said Kroenke in a statement on the club's website.

The move makes Kroenke the club's second-biggest shareholder after Russian-based Uzbek billionaire Alisher Usmanov, who owns more than 25 per cent.

Kroenke, whose companies assets include the Denver Nuggets basketball team and the Colorado Avalanche ice hockey club, promised to maintain a "stable environment" at Arsenal.

Despite Fiszman selling a third of his shareholding, the diamond dealer retains a 16.1-per-cent stake.

"I am pleased that Stan Kroenke has made a further substantial commitment to the Club by acquiring approximately a third of my holding. Stans long term commitment to sport in general and football in particular has been well documented," said Fiszman on the club's website.

"I am therefore delighted that he has shown this desire to deepen his ties with Arsenal. I will of course continue to work for Arsenal with the best interests of the club at heart and have no intention of selling any more of my shareholding." (dpa)