Jonathan Goldstein, Spurs fan, could be the face of the new ownership
An investment group with a plantation era link launched just a day ago by executives at Guggenheim Capital, a US based diversified business venture has been strongly associated with a take over of Tottenham. Joe Lewis, the present owner, through his ENIC investment vehicle, has cast around for a new owner willing to cough up between £1bn to £1.7bn. The big caveat in the valuation is without a new stadium, Spurs are probably about half that much. The new stadium is already said to be delayed by a year and won’t be ready till 2018 leading to all kinds of speculations Spurs will have to play at least a season in some temporary home including possibly the Emirates. Yep, and pigs can fly.
Meet the Cain Hoy team:
Delving a bit more into it, one of the Guggenheim Capital executives who heads the London arm of Cain Hoy is Jonathan Goldstein, a real estate lawyer, and a big Spurs fan. He’s also a former Gerald Ronson sidekick in the Heron Tower boondoggle, a vanity project built at the height of the global recession, and now the creepily renamed Salesforce Tower. Good luck to the present tenants with that name. They should get paid to live there. Goldstein jumped ship before the Heron International crapola hit the ceiling.
The man behind Cain Hoy is Henry Silverman, a self professed “innate genius”, who made his fortune in the budget hotels and rental car business. His personal life is a bit sleazy. For those curious as to whether Guggenheim Capital invests in sports teams, rest assured, Todd Boehly, another partner, bought out the LA Lakers along with Magic Johnson and other investors for $2.15bn.
Boehly likes sports teams for their entertainment value. Which means Spurs will never win another league title. He also likes to negotiate TV deals on his own so he’s probably going to hate the socialistic re-distribution of TV funding between the 20 Premier League clubs.
Guggenheim Partners seem to be quite strongly tied to the discredited junk bond king, Michael Milken. The SEC’s investigating the exact nature of that association. Milken has $800m tied up in Guggenheim assets. The firm also seems to have a fondness for former champion wrestlers and bodybuilders.
Unsurprisingly, there are all kinds of denials Cain Hoy are taking over with the priority being finding funding for the new stadium. Why the delay? Because after relocating 70 odd businesses from the property, the last hold out is a sheet (Oye, if his sheet don’t smell) metal firm who’s gone to court. The owner must be an Arsenal fan.
Cain Hoy has till 10th October to make a firm offer under London Stock Exchange obligations. As per Goldstein, they are fully funded and are committed to the long term. Make what you will. Goldstein may have a genuine love for Spurs and football, probably the best thing given these circumstances. Like Magic Johnson, he is the connection to the team he loves and will balance out Cain Hoy’s vested interests at the business and commercial ends.