American Investment Firm Backed By Mark Zuckerberg Considering £1B Tottenham Bid

A "secretive American investment firm" backed by Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg is considering a £1B ($1.29B) bid for Tottenham Hotspur, according to Ben Harrington of the SUNDAY TIMES. Iconiq Capital has held talks with "a number of buyout firms" about a possible bid for the north London club, which finished second in the Premier League last season. The San Francisco-based fund "manages the wealth of a number of Silicon Valley billionaires," including Zuckerberg. City sources said that Iconiq began talks about buying Spurs with private equity company Blackstone in '14, and by '15, had put together a consortium that included American former sports agent Jeff Moorad. The consortium had prepared to pay £882.6M but that was rejected by Tottenham Owner Joe Lewis. He is "understood to be holding out" for £2B ($2.58B) (SUNDAY TIMES, 7/9).