Tottenham owner Joe Lewis OPEN to selling club but will demand more than £4BILLION amid Jahm Najafi takeover interest
TOTTENHAM’S owners will demand more than £4BILLION after becoming the latest target for a US takeover.
American-Iranian businessman Jahm Najafi is heading up a consortium preparing a £3.1bn offer.
A formal approach to Spurs’ owner Joe Lewis and chairman Daniel Levy looks set to be made in the coming weeks.
But it is understood that figure would fall short of the valuation put on the club by billionaire Lewis, who is open to selling.
Najafi, a minority shareholder in NBA team Phoenix Suns and vice-chairman of McLaren Racing, is chair of MSP Sports Capital which recently showed interest in investing in Everton.
Spurs are an attractive proposition given their London location and state-of-the-art stadium — which hosts NFL games, major boxing fights and gigs including Beyonce this year.
Harry Kane spearheads a team competing in the Champions League but they have not won a trophy since 2008.
Tottenham last week reported revenue of £444m for the year ending June 2022, up £83m on the previous year as fans returned following the Covid pandemic.
The Najafi-led offer is set to value Spurs’ at around £2.5bn, adding approximately £610m of the club’s debts.
MSP and its partners would stump up 70 per cent of the bid with the remaining 30 per cent supplied by backers from the Middle East, including from Abu Dhabi.
Tottenham is owned by Lewis’ investment company ENIC.
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The Bahamas-registered organisation bought a 26 per cent stake in the club from Lord Alan Sugar for £21.9m in 2000 but have since upped their share to 85.5 per cent.
Ten Premier League clubs are currently owned by Americans following takeovers at Chelsea and Bournemouth last year.