Tottenham refute takeover talks
– English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur have said they are not in takeover talks in response to a British media report that a potential buyer backed by Facebook owner Mark Zuckerberg is considering a £1 billion bid.
The Sunday Times reported that US investment firm Iconiq Capital had held talks with a number of buyout firms about a possible move for Spurs.
It said the San Francisco fund manages the wealth of several Silicon Valley billionaires, including the founder of Facebook.
In 2001 Bahamas-based Joe Lewis bought Tottenham through investment vehicle ENIC, which owns 85.55% of the club.
Tottenham finished second in the Premier League last season behind London rivals Chelsea to again qualify for the lucrative Champions League, European soccer’s elite club competition.
Spurs are building a 61 500-seat stadium on their existing White Hart Lane site for £800 million and will use Wembley this season while the new ground is built for the club to use from the 2018/19 campaign.
Tottenham said on Sunday: “The club engaged Rothschild to secure the funding for the new stadium. Many proposals came forward including bank debt and equity investment.
“The club announced on 31 May 2017 the completion of the bank debt financing with a consortium of banks involving Bank of America Merrill Lynch International Limited, Goldman Sachs Bank USA and HSBC Bank plc.”
The club had signed a £400 million, five-year loan to help finance the new stadium. –