Tottenham are not, and never have been, for sale after a third prospective bidder confirmed they will not make an offer for the club.
On Monday evening, Brooklyn Earick confirmed to the London Stock Exchange that he does not intend to bid for Tottenham.
The former DJ led an American consortium that made an informal expression of interest, which was “unequivocally rejected” by the Spurs board, led by majority shareholders ENIC group, on September 26.
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Following Daniel Levy’s departure, Tottenham Hotspur CEO Vinai Venkatesham outlines the club’s vision. Credit: Tottenham Hotspur FC
As some Tottenham shares are still held by private investors, prospective bidders had to make their intentions clear, as set out in the Takeover Code.
There were three expressions – of varying degrees of seriousness – in buying the club, but all have now confirmed they will not be making bids.
That means they cannot bid for six months – unless someone else enters talks about buying the club.
The Lewis family are committed to owning Tottenham and are looking forward to a sustained period of stability and long-term success.
It was announced at the start of September that Spurs’ majority owners ENIC had “unequivocally rejected” two expressions of interest in acquiring the north London club, with one from a consortium of investors led by Dr Roger Kennedy and Wing-Fai Ng through Firehawk.
Amanda Staveley’s PCP International Finance immediately confirmed via the London Stock Exchange on September 8 that it did not intend to make an offer for Tottenham, and Firehawk followed suit a month later.
Amanda Staveley’s PCP International Finance have expressed interest in Spurs
Following Mr Earick’s intention not to bid either for the club, Spurs released a statement on Monday evening.
It read: “The Board of Tottenham Hotspur Limited (the “Club”) notes the recent announcements from the Firehawk and Mr Earick’s consortiums that they do not intend to make an offer for the Club. The Board thanks them for the constructive approach taken in the discussions with the Club’s and the Lewis family’s representatives and respecting the clear position of the Lewis family that the Club is not for sale.
“Following the announcements made by the consortiums, the Club is no longer in an offer period under the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers.”
The takeover speculation in recent months follows Daniel Levy’s departure from the club after nearly 25 years as executive chairman.
Sky Sports News has been told the decision for Levy’s exit was taken in pursuit of long-term success and building on the foundations of their Europa League triumph.
Frank: My interactions with Lewis family have been good
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Tottenham boss Thomas Frank is happy with where the club’s ownership is going
Speaking on September 26, Spurs head coach Thomas Frank, who was appointed by Levy and the Spurs board in the summer, said his interactions with the Lewis family have been “good”.
“You can say the start of my time here was very stable,” Frank said. “Daniel has been here for almost 25 years, and then the change came – okay, I didn’t expect that.
“Since then, the Lewis family have been very transparent and good in the way they have communicated that the club is not for sale.
“Vinai [Venkatesham, Spurs’ CEO] has been on top of everything and has been very clear, so for me I feel a very stable environment.
“I have learned over a lot of years that the only thing which helps me and the team is to fully focus on the team and the players.
“I’ve said two or three times before, I’ve had some interactions with the Lewis family. It’s been good.”
Who is Brooklyn Earick?
Brooklyn Earrick led an American consortium interested in taking over Spurs
Earick is an American tech industry expert, who founded Redacted RnD, a company with a focus on technology, sports, media and entertainment.
The 41-year-old also founded Algorith Capital, an investment fund entity.
In his earlier days, Earick was a DJ and secured a record deal with Warner Records. He also performed at the Sundance Music Festival.
He then changed careers after suffering from burnout and secured an internship at NASA as an electrical engineer in the small spacecraft division.
Earick’s Redacted RnD group was said to be in talks over buying Maserati’s Formula E team, but the move fell through.