LONDON - American sports magnate Stan Kroenke has edged a step closer to a possible bid for full control of Arsenal by increasing his stake in the club's holding company to 29.9 percent.

That is just short of the 29.99 percent threshold at which British company law requires investors to make an offer to buy out all the other shareholders.

Kroenke declined an opportunity to clarify his intentions at Arsenal's annual general meeting last month, which fuelled speculation that a bid could be imminent.

The latest increase in Kroenke's stake followed the acquisition of 200 shares, half of which were sold to him by Peter Hill-Wood, the Arsenal chairman.

That move will be seen as an indicator of the Arsenal hierarchy's preference for Kroenke over Arsenal's second-biggest shareholder, Alisher Usmanov, whose company Red and White Holdings holds a stake of just under 26 percent.

Kroenke has also been able to purchase shares from another board member, Danny Fiszman, who has around 16 percent of the holding company.