Why Tottenham Hotspur’s Sale Price Is Falling

Tottenham Hotspur has been on the sale block for several months. The Financial Times reported Wednesday that Iranian American billionaire Jahm Najafi, the chairman of MSP Sports Capital, is preparing a blockbuster $3.75 billion (3.12 billion pounds) bid for the team, consisting of about $3 billion in equity and $750 million of debt. Najafi is a minority shareholder in the NBA’s Phoenix Suns.

The English team has a lot going for it. Controlled by David Levy since 2021, it plays in a new stadium in London, Europe’s best soccer market. Tottenham, which currently sits in fifth place in the Premier League, is also very profitable. For the 2021-22 fiscal year, the team had $537 million in revenue, 23% more than the previous year, while operating income (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) came in at $138 million, a 20% increase from a year ago. Last May, the team’s owners kicked in $182 million of cash to help the team upgrade its roster.

Yet the price for Tottenham Hotspur has been falling, at least according to the potential investors with whom Forbes spoke.

According to one of the people, “We got a call a few weeks ago saying that 10% to 20% of Tottenham could be had at a $4.5 billion enterprise value. Their pitch is that it has the most runway to grow given the stadium and its relationship with the NFL.” (The stadium hosts American football games.)

MSC Sports Capital did not respond to an email from Forbes asking about the potential sale. But the main reason the value of the team may have dropped to $3.75 billion from $4.5 billion is simple supply and demand. There are a lot of big-name European soccer teams on the market.

In England, Manchester United, Liverpool and Everton are being shopped by their owners. In Italy, Inter Milan is reportedly looking for capital. And in recent months, both AC Milan and Chelsea were sold. Unlike in the U.S., where it’s rare that several big-brand sports teams in one sport are on the market at the same time, across the pond the opposite is true.