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‘Surely this is too good to be true’: Tottenham fans are divided over reports that Iranian-American billionaire Jahm Najafi is preparing a £3bn takeover… with some desperate to break free of ENIC and Daniel Levy, while others are wary of being saddled with a £620m debt
- Billionaire Jahm Najafi is preparing a $3.75 billion takeover offer for Tottenham Hotspur
- The Iranian-American is working with a consortium to finalize the structure of the offer.
- The group is expected to move closer to the Spurs pecking order in the coming weeks.
There was a mixed reaction from Tottenham supporters after reports emerged on Wednesday morning that Iranian-American billionaire Jahm Najafi is preparing a £3bn takeover of the club.
Najafi is reportedly preparing a group of investors to launch a $3.75bn (£3.1bn) takeover bid for Tottenham, according to two people with direct knowledge of the plans.
The Financial Times reports that Najafi, who chairs MSP Sports Capital, is working with a consortium to prepare the structure of the big offer and the group is expected to approach Spurs owner Joe Lewis and chairman Daniel Levy in the next weeks.
The offer is set to have Najafi and MSP contribute 70 percent of the equity, with others contributing the remaining 30 percent, and these backers are likely to come from the Gulf, and particularly from Abu Dhabi.
Naturally, fans were quick to take to social media to respond to the reports.
Many welcomed the news as it would spell the end of ENIC’s unpopular ownership.
ENIC is connected to Lewis and Levy and they bought a 26 per cent stake from Lord Alan Sugar for £21.9m in 2000.
“I can’t keep hoping like this,” one wrote as another tweeted, “please save us from the trenches.”
“Surely this is too good to be true,” asked another, while some fans were pretty sure it was.
“Not sure this is the right move,” wrote one, while another called the Phoenix Suns owner and McLaren F1 shareholder a “serial loser.”