Iranian-American billionaire 'preparing £3.1bn Tottenham Hotspur takeover bid'

Iranian-American billionaire Jahm Najafi is reportedly set to lodge a $3.75bn (£3.1bn) takeover bid for Tottenham Hotspur.

The Lilywhites have been under the ownership of ENIC - an investment company owned by Joe Lewis - since acquiring a majority stake from Sir Alan Sugar in 2001 for £22m.

Lewis and business partner Daniel Levy, who serves as Spurs' executive chairman, continued to increase their shareholding over the years before the club was taken into private ownership in 2012.

During Lewis and Levy's reign, Tottenham have moved to a new 62,850-capacity stadium from White Hart Lane, while also consistently challenging for Champions League qualification.

However, the Spurs hierarchy have come under considerable criticism for Spurs' trophy drought and a perceived lack of investment in the transfer market, leading to frequent protests.

© Reuters

According to the Financial Times, Najafi is working on a multi-billion pound takeover bid, and he could formally approach ENIC within the next several weeks.

Najafi is the chair of MSP Sports Capital, a private equity firm based in New York, and he previously held a stake in the Phoenix Suns NBA team before they were sold in December.

The report states that Najafi's consortium are currently working on the structure of a bid, and the Iranian-American values the club's equity at $3bn (£2.5m) before adding $750m (£621.1m) worth of debt onto the books.

MSP Sports Capital would supposedly contribute 70% of the takeover bid, and the remaining 30% would come from backers based in Abu Dhabi and elsewhere in the Persian Gulf.

Najafi has also been linked with a takeover bid for Everton, and in 2021, his net worth was listed at $3.5bn (£2.9m) by Paddock Magazine.

© Reuters

Despite consistently fighting for top-four finishes in the Premier League, Tottenham have now gone 15 years without a trophy since winning the EFL Cup in the 2007-08 season.

Since defeating Chelsea in that encounter, Spurs have lost the 2018-19 Champions League final to Liverpool, while also falling short in the 2008-09, 2014-15 and 2020-21 EFL Cup finals.

Spurs have already been knocked out of the EFL Cup and FA Cup this season, and they suffered a 1-0 defeat to AC Milan in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Tuesday.

The Lilywhites also sit fifth in the Premier League table after going down 4-1 to Leicester City at the weekend, and they are next in action against West Ham United on Sunday afternoon.

The club recently announced a total revenue of £444m for the 2021-22 season, an increase of 23% from the coronavirus-affected 2020-21 campaign.