An investment group from the United States has said it is considering making a cash offer for Tottenham Hotspur, prompting the club to deny it was in takeover talks with the firm or any other party. Cain Hoy, a US private investment firm that publicly launched on Thursday and is backed by Guggenheim Partners, said in a statement that it was in the “preliminary stages” of assessing a cash offer for Spurs.
Senior club insiders do not believe there is any likelihood of a bid being launched before plans to redevelop White Hart Lane have progressed. The club released a statement confirming it was not in takeover discussions with Cain Hoy “or any other party”.
“THFC has been in discussions with multiple providers of finance so that the optimum financing package for the project can be achieved and, in the course of those considerations, has met representatives of Cain Hoy,” it said. “However, there are no ongoing discussions with Cain Hoy. The club is focused on the new stadium development and the season ahead.”
Tottenham’s owner, Joe Lewis, is said to value the club at close to £1bn, but without a new stadium – or significant progress towards one – it is unlikely that any prospective new owner would pay anywhere near that sum. Rumours have swirled for some time about whether and when Lewis might be prepared to sell, against the backdrop of the chairman, Daniel Levy, attempting to maintain competitiveness on the pitch and progress the new stadium off it.
At the time when Spurs were battling West Ham for the Olympic Stadium, there was speculation that Lewis was preparing an exit.
Cain Hoy is led in Europe by Jonathan Goldstein, a real estate lawyer who was the chief executive of Olswang. A Spurs fan, he worked at Guggenheim Partners before leaving along with Todd Boehly and Henry Silverman to launch the new fund with minority investment from their former employer.
In the press release announcing the launch of Cain Hoy it announced its intention to invest in real estate and “consumer interests such as entertainment, media and retail”.
Source: the Guardian