Jahm Najafi set to launch £3.1bn takeover bid for Tottenham Hotspur

Iranian-American billionaire Jahm Najafi is plotting a £3.1 billion takeover bid for Tottenham Hotspur, reports the Financial Times.

The north London club are currently not on the market. However, Najafi plans to formally approach Spurs owner Joe Lewis and chairman Daniel Levy in the coming weeks.

The 60-year-old is the chairman of MSP Sports Capital and also runs Najafi Companies, a Phoenix-based private-equity firm.

Najafi is working with a consortium of investors to structure a bid.

The bid would see MSP and its partners put forward 70% of the purchase price for Tottenham. Backers from Abu Dhabi will contribute the remaining 30%.

Najafi values Spurs’ equity at approximately £2.5bn before adding about £620 million of debt on their books.

ENIC Group have owned 86% of Tottenham since 2010, with the remaining shares held by over 30,000 individuals.

Levy and his family own 29.4% of the share capital of ENIC, while Lewis owns 70.6%. They have owned part of the club since 1991, having acquired 30% shares at the time.

Spurs have not won a trophy since 2008, and fans have continued to demand ENIC’s exit.

Najafi was recently involved in the ownership of the NBA basketball team Phoenix Suns. He could soon join the Premier League’s American owners, but whether ENIC would sell is unclear.

Lewis and Levy could also demand more than £3.1bn to sell the club. Fans will hope a takeover goes through as that guarantees more investment.

The Lilywhites spent £160m across the transfer windows last term on the acquisitions of seven players.

They signed Arnaut Danjuma and Pedro Porro from Villarreal and Sporting Lisbon, respectively, on loan last month.