February 16 – Tottenham Hotspur’s board has indicted that it is not for sale and its owners are committed to their long-term plans for the Premier League club.
The news counters reports that Iranian-American billionaire Jahm Najafi, via MSP Sports Capital, is readying a $3.75 billion bid for Spurs that will be put to the club’s owners in the next few weeks.
The deal, reports the Financial Times, values the club at $3 billion with a further $750 million being infused into the business as debt.
Although Spurs have pushed into the Premier League’s Big Six clubs and qualified regularly for the Champions League. They have qualified for UEFA club competitions in each of the past 13 seasons but have not won the trophies their fans crave. The new money would be used to provide the funds for players that would help them overcome that final hurdle.
Najafi’s deal reportedly has MSP Sports owning 70% of the club with the remaining 30% being owned by investors from the Gulf, mainly Abu Dhabi, according to the FT.
MSP has been linked with buying into Everton, but a deal for Spurs, if accepted by ENIC, the vehicle controlled by billionaire Joe Lewis and Spurs chairman Daniel Levy, would effectively end any discussions with the Merseyside club.
ENIC bought into Spurs in 2000, buying a 25% stake from Alan Sugar for £21.9 million, growing that initial shareholding to 86%.
Since acquisition, the club has spent over £1 billion building a state of the art new stadium that opened in 2019.
The club reported revenues of £444 million in the year ended June 2022, making a net loss of £50 million.
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