Tottenham quiet on reports of £3.1bn takeover by billionaire Jahm Najafi
Tottenham have said there has been no approach from Jahm Najafi after claims that the Iranian-American is ready to offer $3.75bn (£3.1bn) for the club.
According to a report in the Financial Times on Wednesday, Najafi, who is the chair of private equity firm MSP Sports Capital that has also been linked with a takeover of Everton, is working with a consortium of investors to structure his bid and “is weeks away from formally approaching Spurs owner Joe Lewis and the football club’s chair Daniel Levy”.
Citing information from two people with direct knowledge of the plans, the report says that the offer values Tottenham’s equity at around $3bn before adding about $750m of debt on the club’s books, with MSP and its partners putting forward 70% and the remaining 30% coming via “backers from the Gulf, mainly from Abu Dhabi”.
“A takeover of Spurs, the north London-based club, could mean it spends more to challenge for the Premier League and other trophies,” the report adds.
MSP, which bought a 15% stake in Formula 1 team McLaren for £185m in December 2020 and also own shares in Spanish side Alcorcón, Belgian club Beveren and FC Augsburg in Germany, has previously been reported to have held talks about buying a minority stake from Everton majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri. Najafi, CEO Jeff Moorad and vice-president Pete Taylor were spotted at Goodison Park during Everton’s 2-1 loss to Southampton last month.
Qatar Sports Investments held exploratory meetings with Levy last month over purchasing a minority stake in Tottenham.