'Tottenham are adamant' - Journalist reveals what Spurs sources tell him about Daniel Levy rumours

Ben Jacobs has set the record straight amidst reports suggesting that Daniel Levy is ready to sell his shares in ENIC, the company that holds the majority of Tottenham.

Despite his exit from his role as chairman in the summer, Levy continues to be linked to Spurs through his share holdings in ENIC.

The former Tottenham chairman owns 29.88 per cent of ENIC, which in turn holds an 86.58 per cent stake in Spurs, with the other 13.42 per cent owned by private investors.

It emerged last week that Levy is in talks over selling his stake to Hong Kong businessman Ng Wing-Fai for a fee in the region of £1 billion.

Ben Jacobs warns investors about buying Daniel Levy’s Tottenham stake

According to a recent update by The Telegraph, Levy’s stake in ENIC comes with no Tottenham voting rights, no place on the Spurs board or any other position of influence in N17.

This has now been confirmed by Ben Jacobs, who explained that buying Levy’s stake will not come as a precursor for any party to purchasing a bigger chunk of Tottenham from other investors.

When asked about Levy selling his stake in ENIC, the journalist told talkSPORT: “I think it’s a bit premature to say that it’s happening. Of course, Levy is free to negotiate his 29.88 per cent or so away from those current executives.

“My understanding at this stage is that nobody has met Levy’s valuation. Now, we heard some reports suggesting that two failed prospective bidders, who were ruled out to buy 100 per cent of Tottenham, are going to team up and try to take Levy’s 29 per cent (of ENIC).

“One of them is the former DJ, Brooklyn Earick, and the other is Hong Kong-based businessman, Ng Wing-Fai, who put together a broader group. As per takeover rules, when both of them applied independently for 100 per cent of the club, they then had to state if they were making a bid and neither of them proceeded.

“And now some reports have suggested that they want to get a smaller stake, directly off Daniel Levy. Spurs sources I speak to say two things really clearly. One, they’ve not been informed that Levy is about to sell and two, there is scepticism that whether the individuals that were named in the press have the funds to meet Levy’s valuation.

“The other thing to note is that this isn’t a trojan horse into the club, so if somebody buys Levy’s stake, it comes with no power, and Tottenham are adamant that you can’t then go and take more shares off more people and get a longer-term path to buying the entire club. So it’s a lot of money and ultimately, even if someone does buy Levy’s 29 per cent, they’re not going to get any control of even voting power.”

Jacobs says Spurs minority takeover attempt could be a PR exercise

Jacobs has suggested that billionaires such as Brooklyn Earick, who expressed interest in buying a majority stake in Tottenham from the Lewis family, may have done so for PR reasons.

He explained that the club’s high valuation considerably limits the pool of investors who could do a deal.

Jacobs added: “A lot of people speculate that it’s PR, it’s prestige. When Earick, in particular, bid, many people felt like he was driving the agenda through the media, as it was great in terms of the media, and sometimes with takeover groups, that’s what happens.

“You want the brand exposure, you want to sit in a hospitality box, you want to host other clients, it can be good for business. But if you look at Levy’s valuation, even when he was at Tottenham and running the show, he was hoping, including the debt, for somewhere around £4 billion and that type of money definitely diminishes the pool of genuine investors that are there.”

• READ MORE: Former Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy has ultimate control over who he sells ENIC shares to

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