Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy has added some clarity around rumours that Spurs were being targeted for a full takeover by a firm that has been strongly linked to investment in Everton.
Farhad Moshiri and his representatives are understood to be closing in on securing investment through a partial sale of the club to a third party, a move that would be hugely significant for the Toffees, allowing Moshiri to recapitalise a business which has been through the financial wringer in recent years and bringing on board the funds required to complete the crucial building of the new 52,888 seater stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock.
Two US investment firms have been linked with taking a stake in the club, with New York-based MSP Sports Capital and 777 Partners, based in Miami, both having held talks with the club in recent weeks.
Jahm Najafi and Jeff Moorad, co-founders of MSP Sports Capital, along with company vice-president Peter Taylor, were present at Goodison Park in January for the defeat by Southampton, with the trio also taking in the build of the new stadium on the banks of the River Mersey.
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Talks with MSP were rumoured to have cooled last month but it is understood that they remain at the table over taking a stake in the club, potentially around 20 per cent. They would likely want to see some element of operational control with any investment, as is their modus operandi when it comes to their strategy. That would likely mean one or two seats on the Everton board, should investment be concluded.
The 777 Partners interest in a minority stake is said to remain, although it is unclear how far any discussions progressed between the Hertha Berlin, Genoa and Vasco da Gama owners and Everton, whose search for investment has been led in part by Matthew Hammond, a long-time business associate of Moshiri and ex-chief financial officer of the formerly Alisher Usmanov-owned Mail.ru Group.
One major issue that presented itself in February was the reported interest of billionaire Najafi in making an MSP-backed bid for Spurs, with the Financial Times claiming that he was eyeing a $3.75bn deal alongside other investors. That would have been a move to end any hope of an MSP deal for Everton.
But Levy looks to have poured cold water on any rumour of an incoming takeover at Spurs, something which gives rise to more hope that an investment deal for Everton is close.
Speaking to the Cambridge Union, Levy said: “I answer this question the way I’ve answered it for the last 22 years, so ENIC owns approximately 87 percent of the club, we have 30,000 shareholders, most of them are fans, and we have a duty to consider any proposals anyone wants to make.
“All I will say is that we’re not in negotiations with anybody, nor have we been over recent months and all the stuff that has been in the newspapers is completely untrue.”
Everton, who face a major battle to preserve their Premier League status this season and who are also set to appear before an independent commission to answer charges relating to allegations made by the Premier League over breaches of the League’s profit and sustainability rules, have been searching for a minority partner to bring both capital and expertise to help bridge the knowledge gap since last summer.
MSP's sporting investments are varied but they already have put down roots in football through their link up with Crystal Palace shareholder David Blitzer, co-founder of sports investment company Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, and the creation of Bolt Football Holdings. The football investments that MSP currently have include German side FC Augsburg, G.D. Estoril Praia in Portugal, Spain’s AD Alcorcon and Belgian side SK Beveren. They also have a controlling stake in the extreme sports event X Games and a significant minority investment in the McLaren Formula One racing team, where Najafi, who is privately the second largest shareholder in the Phoenix Suns NBA team, serves as vice-chairman.
Speaking in a guest editorial for US sports business website Sportico in March of last year, Moorad gave insight into the way that the firm invests its capital, writing: "At MSP Sports Capital, we only pursue investments with operational control or significant influence.
"Fundamentally, investors are attracted to the disproportionate annualised returns available in sports, with limited relative downside risk. In order to achieve favourable risk-adjusted returns, investing discipline remains critical in an industry where emotion can easily take hold of the uninitiated. We believe it’s critical to evaluate both macro dynamics (trajectory of the sport, league management, league competition, regulatory environment) and micro dynamics specific to the asset (management team, brand power and digital presence, fan/sponsor loyalty, local market dynamics and real estate opportunities).”
Najafi and Moorad were pictured meeting with Levy in Bahrain in early March at the season opener for Formula One, although the meeting was understood to be social given Najafi and Moorad's interest in McLaren and Levy being in the Middle East as a guest of F1 due to the tie in that the sport had recently inked with Spurs through plans for a karting track underneath the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
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