Tottenham insist they have received no approach from billionaire Jahm Najafi following a report claiming the Iranian-American is set to bid $3.75billion (£3.1bn) for the club.
According to yesterday's Financial Times, Najafi, who is the chair of private equity firm MSP Sports Capital, which has also held talks over investing in Everton, is poised to test the resolve of Spurs's majority shareholder Joe Lewis and chairman Daniel Levy with a bid in the coming weeks.
The report claims Najafi values Spurs at about £2.5bn before adding about £620m of debt on the club's books, and says MSP would fund 70 per cent of the deal, with the rest coming from backers in the Gulf, mainly from Abu Dhabi.
However, Levy is thought to value the club in the region of £3.5bn to £4bn, and would therefore be unlikely to entertain any bid at the figures quoted.
Last year, Chelsea were sold to a consortium fronted by American billionaire Todd Boehly for £2.5bn, with a commitment to spend another £1.75bn over the next 10 years.
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The Blues face an expensive stadium renovation in the coming years, while Spurs moved into their new £1.2bn home in 2019 and are already generating significantly more commercial revenue than their rivals, making them a potentially more attractive proposition for investors — despite their lack of silverware on the pitch in recent seasons.
MSP bought a 15 per cent stake in Formula One team McLaren for £185m in December 2020 and also own shares in Spanish side Alcorcnn, Belgian club Beveren and Augsburg in Germany.
Standard Sport understands Levy met Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the president of Paris Saint-Germain and chairman of Qatar Sports Investments, last month to discuss selling a minor stake in the club — although Spurs have denied the meeting took place.
ENIC, the investment vehicle run by Levy, owns 86.58 per cent of Spurs, having bought a 26 per cent share in the club in 2000 for £21.9m.
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