Tottenham Hotspur have been linked with a potential takeover, or at least minority investment, for over a year now.
One of England’s finest voices in football finance has had his say on why things have been slow, and whether that’s a good thing.
Kieran Maguire explains sluggishness over Tottenham takeover talks
Speaking to TBR Football, football finance expert Kieran Maguire has presented his view on why talks regarding a potential investment in Tottenham have been slow.
“When people want to move quickly, they can move very quickly.
“I think you see that in the speed that PIF moved to acquire Newcastle very shortly after they got approval from the Premier League.
“I don’t think there is any urgency with Friedkin, for example, in relation to Everton. There are an awful lot of clubs in play today. You can understand why things are moving slowly at other clubs.
“We are talking about substantial money and it is, to a certain extent, a buyer’s market in terms of what is offered by a seller.
“Some of the sellers have got a bit giddy in terms of asking prices, which has meant the buyers have walked away.
“Even if you want to be a sleeping partner, there is politics involved. Levy thinks nobody can run Spurs as a business better than he can, and I think there’s a lot of merit in that view.”
Maguire on why the Tottenham takeover talks have been slow.
Amanda Staveley, credited with both the 2008 Man City takeover by Abu Dhabi Group as well as the 2021 Newcastle United takeover led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, has reportedly raised £500 million towards a potential minority stake in Spurs, with backing from the Middle East.
Earlier this year, Staveley also reopened her claim against Barclays Bank in the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris.
Better late than never
Daniel Levy is famous for standing his ground in negotiations. He is very likely not going to budge from his £3.5bn valuation of the club, which any potential investor(s) will need to tackle head on if they are inclined to not have Levy around the club going forward.
Because, as long as it’s a matter of minority ownership, Levy is going to remain in charge, and in either case he will play a key part in making sure the club do not sell themselves short. The fact that all of this is progressing at a slow pace must be annoying for the fans, but it is still progressing, and it won’t be the worst thing in the world if Levy were to land new stakeholders primarily on his terms and not the other way round.
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