Source:REUTERS/Andrew Couldridge
[Saba Sports News] According to British media, the son of former Conservative Party vice-chairman and billionaire Michael Ashcroft has acquired a 3.4% stake in Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur, marking the latest change at the North London club recently. Public documents released by the London Stock Exchange show that hospitality industry businessman Andrew Ashcroft purchased 8,023,942 Tottenham shares last Friday. The specific price was not disclosed, but based on Tottenham’s recent valuation, the transaction could be worth around £100 million. Lord Ashcroft is a long-term shareholder of Tottenham and once held about 4% of the club’s shares. It is currently unclear whether Lord Ashcroft transferred his existing shares to his son Andrew, or if the family nearly doubled its stake by acquiring shares from minority shareholders, who collectively held 13.42% of the club’s shares prior to last week. Tottenham’s majority shareholder, ENIC Group, did not sell any shares and has firmly stated that the club is not for sale. Daniel Levy abruptly resigned this month from his role as the club’s top director after 25 years, succeeded by Peter Charrington, a long-time advisor to the Lewis family, the actual controllers of ENIC, as non-executive chairman. If evidence emerges of coordinated action by the Ashcroft family, the Takeover Panel could force them to issue a statement of acting in concert. The Takeover Code does not presume that family members holding shares in the same company necessarily act in concert, but if evidence indicates coordinated holding behavior, it will be treated as such.